SBIR Phase I: A novel biological method to suppress Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Toxin resistance

SBIR 第一阶段：抑制苏云金芽孢杆菌 (Bt) 毒素抗性的新型生物方法

• 批准号: 1415524
• 负责人: Angelika Fath-Goodin
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Paratechs Corp.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1415524&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; novel; biological; method

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a technology to sustain the efficacy of transgenic plants expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. Transgenic expression of Bt toxins is a major tool for the control of insect pests in agriculturally important crops. Bt transgenic technology has been deployed on over one billion acres because it improves crop yields and reduces the environmental problem of using toxic chemical pesticides. Insects, however, are becoming increasingly resistant to the Bt toxin, which is threatening its sustainability. This project proposes to develop alternative means to suppress populations of important lepidopteran pest(s) targeted by Bt. There is no greater threat to sustainability of the Bt technology than the development of resistance, with current evidence indicating that resistance is increasingly impacting producers globally. Novel strategies to suppress or eliminate insect populations resistant to Bt represent a significant commercial opportunity. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel biological control agent for use in specifically suppressing insect populations that are developing resistance to the Bt toxin. This project will produce a biological control agent, and test it for the ability to replicate in the target insect and determine if it has the predicted pathology. Once the agent is developed and its properties evaluated in the laboratory, experiments will be performed to establish methods for efficient infection of target pests. Phase II will assess impacts on pest populations in microcosm experiments with data used to develop population models of effects in the field. Successful experimental results will develop the technology to the point of field testing and commercialization planned for Phase III.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种技术，以维持表达苏云金芽孢杆菌（Bt）毒素的转基因植物的功效。 Bt毒素的转基因表达是控制农业上重要作物中的害虫的主要工具。 Bt转基因技术已经在超过10亿英亩的土地上应用，因为它提高了作物产量，减少了使用有毒化学农药带来的环境问题。然而，昆虫对Bt毒素的抵抗力越来越强，这威胁到了它的可持续性。该项目提出了开发替代方法来抑制Bt针对的重要鳞翅目害虫的种群。对Bt技术可持续性的威胁最大的莫过于抗药性的发展，目前的证据表明，抗药性正在越来越多地影响全球生产者。抑制或消除Bt抗性昆虫种群的新策略代表了重要的商业机会。 该SBIR第一阶段项目提出开发一种新型生物防治剂，用于特异性抑制对Bt毒素产生抗性的昆虫种群。该项目将生产一种生物控制剂，并测试它在目标昆虫中复制的能力，并确定它是否具有预测的病理学。一旦开发出药剂并在实验室中对其性能进行评估，将进行实验以建立有效感染目标害虫的方法。第二阶段将在微观实验中评估对害虫种群的影响，并利用数据建立实地影响的种群模型。成功的实验结果将使该技术发展到计划在第三阶段进行实地测试和商业化的程度。