PLoS ONE (2020) 15 (11 - e0242791)

Yong Yin, Stanislaw Flasinski, William Moar, David Bowen, Cathy Chay, Jason Milligan, Jean-Louis Kouadio, Aihong Pan, Brent Werner, Karrie Buckman, Jun Zhang, Geoffrey Mueller, Collin Preftakes, Bruce E. Hibbard, Paula Price and James Roberts (2020)
A new Bacillus thuringiensis protein for Western corn rootworm control
PLoS ONE 15 (11 - e0242791)
Abstract: The Western corn rootworm (WCR) Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is one of the most economically important insect pests in North America. Since 2003, transgenic maize expressing WCR-active proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been widely adopted as the main approach to controlling WCR in the U.S. However, the emergence of field resistance to the Bt proteins in current commercial products has been documented in recent years, highlighting the need to develop additional tools for controlling this devasting pest. Here we report the discovery of Vpb4Da2 (initially assigned as Vip4Da2), a new insecticidal protein highly selective against WCR, through high-throughput genome sequencing of a Bt strain sourced from grain dust samples collected in the eastern and central regions of the US. Vpb4Da2 contains a sequence and domain signature distinct from families of other WCR-active proteins. Under field conditions, transgenic maize expressing Vpb4Da2 demonstrates commercial-level (at or below NIS 0.25) root protection against WCR, and reduces WCR beetle emergence by > 97%. Our studies also conclude that Vpb4Da2 controls WCR populations that are resistant to WCR-active transgenic maize expressing Cry3Bb1, Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 (reassigned as Gpp34Ab1/Tpp35Ab1), or DvSnf7 RNA. Based on these findings, Vpb4Da2 represents a valuable new tool for protecting maize against WCR.
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Database assignments for author(s): William J. Moar, Bruce E. Hibbard

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Diabrotica virgifera	Maize/corn (Zea mays)
Bacillus thuringiensis Vip-toxins (entomopathogen)	Diabrotica virgifera	Maize/corn (Zea mays)