CUAD biotechnology offers 0.5 USD per hectare for aphid control: innovative platform for low-cost plant protection

Abstract

20 years ago it was difficult to imagine the use of nucleic acids in plant protection as insecticides, but today it is a reality. At the very beginning, new technologies often work inefficiently and are expensive; in the process of their development, qualitative changes occur that make new technologies accessible and work flawlessly. Invented in 2008, oligonucleotide insecticides based on CUAD (contact unmodified antisense DNA) platform have been improved and today possess characteristics that amaze the imagination: low carbon footprint, high safety for non-target organisms, rapid biodegradability in ecosystems, avoidance of target-site resistance. This next generation class of insecticides creates opportunities to develop insecticides which are well-tailored for a particular population of insect pest. CUAD biotechnology combines the achievements of molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and in vitro nucleic acid synthesis providing a simple and flexible platform for plant protection. Aphids, as one of the key pests of important agricultural crops that shape food security, can be controlled by oligonucleotide insecticides at affordable price already today, ensuring effective control with minimal risks for the environment. In this article, low-dose concentration (0.1 ng/mcl; 20 mg per hectare in 200 L of water solution) of 11-nt long oligonucleotide insecticide Schip-11 shows effectiveness on aphid Schizolachnus pineti causing 76.06 ± 7.68 mortality rate on the 12th day (p<0.05). At a consumption rate of 200 L per hectare, the price of the required amount of oligonucleotide insecticide will be about 0.5 USD/ha using liquid-phase DNA synthesis and makes oligonucleotide insecticides very competitive on the market. Also we show that non-canonical base pairing G:T (T:G) between target pre-rRNA and olinscide is well tolerated in aphids. Thus, non-canonical base-pairing should be taken into consideration during design of olinscides not to harm non-target organisms.