Kws Saat Se * Co. Kgaa

Daniel Fabian Stirnweis

Dietmar Stahl

Daniela Scheuermann

Bettina Kessel

Urs Konrad Fischer

Christine Klapprodt

Aurelie Bak

The present application provides a new technology to confer or enhance insect resistance and, optionally also resistance to fungal pathogens in plants. In particular, the present invention provides a method for conferring or increasing resistance or tolerance to insect and optionally also to fungal pathogens in maize and oil seed rape (OSR) by targeting the endogenous Lox3 gene. By introducing either a gene silencing construct, a genome editing system or a genome modification, which leads to a targeted knock-down or knock-out of the Lox3 gene endogenous to the plant, a new or increased resistance to insect and, optionally fungal pathogens can be created.

Lox3 gene modulation and armyworm tolerance

The present invention relates to the field of plant biotechnology. Specifically, there are provided methods and nucleic acid sequences for obtaining pathogen resistance in plants and for generating resistant plants. In particular, the role of a central molecule in plant immunity is studied. Based on the mechanisms elucidated, the present invention provides strategies to specifically modulate said phosphatase-like protein family member molecule by different transient and/or stable techniques, alone or in combination, to achieve a robust increased of pathogen resistance in different target plants to obtain inherently pathogen resistant plants and plant materials to avoid severe harvest losses as caused by major plant pathogens by biological means instead of herbicide or pesticide treatment.

Pathogen resistance in crop plants

Growing community of inventors

Gottingen, Germany

Daniel Fabian Stirnweis