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

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/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效力。Bt毒素的转基因表达是控制重要农业作物害虫的主要工具。Bt转基因技术已经在超过10亿英亩的土地上部署，因为它提高了作物产量，减少了使用有毒化学杀虫剂的环境问题。然而，昆虫对Bt毒素的抵抗力越来越强，这种毒素正在威胁其可持续性。该项目建议开发替代方法来抑制Bt目标的重要鳞翅目害虫(S)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，抗药性正越来越多地影响全球生产商。抑制或消除对Bt抗药性的昆虫种群的新战略代表着一个重要的商业机会。这项SBIR第一阶段项目建议开发一种新的生防剂，用于专门抑制对Bt毒素产生抗药性的昆虫种群。该项目将生产一种生防剂，并测试它在目标昆虫体内复制的能力，并确定它是否具有预测的病理。一旦该试剂被开发出来，并在实验室中对其性能进行评估，就将进行实验，以建立有效感染目标害虫的方法。第二阶段将利用用于建立田间影响的种群模型的数据，在微观实验中评估对害虫种群的影响。成功的实验结果将使这项技术发展到计划在第三阶段进行现场测试和商业化的地步。

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.