Methods and Compositions for Plant Pest Control

Abstract

Provided are methods and compositions to improve fungal disease resistance in various crop plants. Also provided are combinations of compositions and methods to improve fungal disease resistance in various crop plants.

1 . A method for producing a plant exhibiting an improvement in fungal disease resistance comprising topically applying to a plant surface a composition that comprises:
 (a) at least one polynucleotide that comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or to a transcript of said gene, wherein said polynucleotide is not operably linked to a promoter or a viral vector and wherein said polynucleotide is not integrated into the plant chromosome; and,   (b) a transfer agent, wherein said plant exhibits an improvement in fungal disease resistance that results from suppression of said BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said polynucleotide molecule comprises sense ssDNA, sense ssRNA, dsRNA, dsDNA, a double stranded DNA/RNA hybrid, anti-sense ssDNA, or anti-sense ssRNA. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 33-106, 109-140, and 142-146, or wherein said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, or 32. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein:
 (a) said plant is a barley plant, said gene or said transcript is a barley BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 73-76, 93-106, 109-120, and 121, and 121, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO:24;   (b) said plant is a rice plant, said gene or said transcript is a rice BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 77-79, and 80, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 26;   (c) said plant is a wheat plant, said gene or said transcript is a wheat BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:61-67, and 68, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a wheat gene or transcript that encodes SEQ ID NO:18 or 20;   (d) said plant is a soybean plant, said gene or said transcript is a soybean BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 49-52, 69-72, and 122-140, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 12 or 22;   (e) said plant is a corn plant, said gene or said transcript is a corn BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:57-59, and 60, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 16;   (f) said plant is a sorghum plant, said gene or said transcript is a sorghum BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 53-55, and 56, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 14;   (g) said plant is a pepper plant, said gene or said transcript is a pepper BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 45-47, and 48, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 10;   (h) said plant is a grape plant, said gene or said transcript is a grape BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:41-43, and 44, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 8;   (i) said plant is a tomato plant, said gene or said transcript is a tomato BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:37-39, and 40, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 6;   (j) said plant is a lettuce plant, said gene or said transcript is a lettuce BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:33-35, and 36, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 4;   (k) said plant is a cucumber plant, said gene or said transcript is a cucumber BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:81-88, and 142-146, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 28 or 30; or   (l) said plant is a cotton plant, said gene or said transcript is a cotton BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:89-91, and 92, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 32.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises any combination of two or more polynucleotide molecules. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said polynucleotide is at least 18 to about 24, about 25 to about 50, about 51 to about 100, about 101 to about 300, about 301 to about 500, or at least about 500 or more residues in length. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises a non-polynucleotide herbicidal molecule, a polynucleotide herbicidal molecule, a polynucleotide that suppresses an herbicide target gene, an insecticide, a fungicide, a nematocide, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises a non-polynucleotide herbicidal molecule and said plant is resistant to said herbicidal molecule. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said transfer agent comprises an organosilicone preparation. 
     
     
         10 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A composition comprising a polynucleotide molecule that comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript of said gene, wherein said polynucleotide is not operably linked to a promoter; and, b) a transfer agent. 
     
     
         20 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein said polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 33-106, 109-140, and 142-146, or wherein said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, or 32. 
     
     
         21 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein:
 a) said gene or said transcript is a barley BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 73-76, 93-106, 109-120, and 121, and 121, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO:24;   (b) said gene or said transcript is a rice BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 77-79, and 80, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 26;   (c) said gene or said transcript is a wheat BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:61-67, and 68, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a wheat gene or transcript that encodes SEQ ID NO:18 or 20;   (d) said gene or said transcript is a soybean BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 49-52, 69-72, and 122-140, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 12 or 22;   (e) said gene or said transcript is a corn BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:57-59, and 60, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 16;   (f) said gene or said transcript is a sorghum BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 53-55, and 56, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 14;   (g) said gene or said transcript is a pepper BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 45-47, and 48, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 10;   (h) said gene or said transcript is a grape BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:41-43, and 44, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 8;   (i) said gene or said transcript is a tomato BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:37-39, and 40, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 6;   (j) said gene or said transcript is a lettuce BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:33-35, and 36, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 4;   (k) said gene or said transcript is a cucumber BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:81-88, and 142-146, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 28 or 30; or   (l) said gene or said transcript is a cotton BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:89-91, and 92, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 32.   
     
     
         22 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein said polynucleotide is at least 18 to about 24, about 25 to about 50, about 51 to about 100, about 101 to about 300, about 301 to about 500, or at least about 500 or more residues in length. 
     
     
         23 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein said composition further comprises a non-polynucleotide herbicidal molecule, a polynucleotide herbicidal molecule, a polynucleotide that suppresses an herbicide target gene, an insecticide, a fungicide, a nematocide, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         24 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein said transfer agent is an organosilicone preparation 
     
     
         25 . The composition of  claim 19 , wherein said polynucleotide is not physically bound to a biolistic particle. 
     
     
         26 . A plant comprising an exogenous polynucleotide that comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript of said gene, wherein said exogenous polynucleotide is not operably linked to a promoter or to a viral vector, is not integrated into the chromosomal DNA of the plant, and is not found in a non-transgenic plant; and, wherein said plant exhibits an improvement in fungal disease resistance that results from suppression of the BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene. 
     
     
         27 . The plant of  claim 26 , wherein said plant further comprises an organosilicone compound or a component thereof. 
     
     
         28 . The plant of  claim 26 , wherein said polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 33-106, 109-140, and 142-146, or wherein said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, or 32. 
     
     
         29 . The plant of  claim 26 , wherein:
 a) said plant is a barley plant, said gene or said transcript is a barley BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 73-76, 93-106, 109-120, and 121, and 121, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO:24;   (b) said plant is a rice plant, said gene or said transcript is a rice BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 77-79, and 80, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 26;   (c) said plant is a wheat plant, said gene or said transcript is a wheat BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:61-67, and 68, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to a wheat gene or transcript that encodes SEQ ID NO:18 or 20;   (d) said plant is a soybean plant, said gene or said transcript is a soybean BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 49-52, 69-72, and 122-140, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 12 or 22;   (e) said plant is a corn plant, said gene or said transcript is a corn BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:57-59, and 60, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 16;   (f) said plant is a sorghum plant, said gene or said transcript is a sorghum BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 53-55, and 56, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 14;   (g) said plant is a pepper plant, said gene or said transcript is a pepper BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 45-47, and 48, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 10;   (h) said plant is a grape plant, said gene or said transcript is a grape BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:41-43, and 44, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 8;   (i) said plant is a tomato plant, said gene or said transcript is a tomato BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:37-39, and 40, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 6;   (j) said plant is a lettuce plant, said gene or said transcript is a lettuce BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:33-35, and 36, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 4;   (k) said plant is a cucumber plant, said gene or said transcript is a cucumber BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:81-88, and 142-146, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 28 or 30; or   (l) said plant is a cotton plant, said gene or said transcript is a cotton BAX inhibitor 1 (BI-1) gene or transcript, and said polynucleotide molecule is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:89-91, and 92, or said polynucleotide comprises at least 18 contiguous nucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO: 32.   
     
     
         30 . A progeny plant of said plant of  claim 26 , wherein said progeny plant exhibits said improvement in fungal disease resistance. 
     
     
         31 . A seed of said plant of  claim 26 , wherein said seed exhibits said improvement in fungal disease resistance. 
     
     
         32 . A processed product of said plant of  claim 26 , wherein said processed product exhibits an improved attribute relative to a processed product of an untreated control plant and wherein said improved attribute results from said fungal disease resistance. 
     
     
         33 . A processed product of said progeny plant of  claim 30 , wherein said processed product exhibits an improved attribute relative to a processed product of an untreated control plant and wherein said improved attribute results from said fungal disease resistance. 
     
     
         34 . A processed product of said seed of  claim 31 , wherein said processed product exhibits an improved attribute relative to a processed product of an untreated control plant and wherein said improved attribute results from said fungal disease resistance.