SYNTHETIC VARIANT MOLECULES OF CRY1IA12 TOXINS CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING INSECT PESTS, COMPOSITIONS CONTAINING THESE MUTANTS AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME

摘要

The present invention relates to the field of insect pest control with methods and compositions that comprise mutant analogues of δ-endotoxins. More specifically, the present invention aims at providing new molecules from the Cry1Ia12 gene with improved toxicity in order to render sugar cane plants resistant to the sugar cane stem borer (Telchin licus), producing transgenic plants capable of expressing toxins with high entomotoxic activity; at providing improved δ-endotoxins by bioengineering processes; at helping reducing the dosage of agrochemicals applied, thus reducing social and environmental costs and increasing agricultural productivity. Other aspects of the invention include gene constructs containing the nucleic acid molecules that code for the modified Cr1Ia12, heterologous expression methods of the new molecules in the active form, and the use of these molecules for controlling insect pests. The invention also provides synthetic analogue genes optimised for their transformation and expression in plants.