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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Research Project #436697

Research Project: Managing Soybean Cyst Nematodes using Engineered Viruses and Self-Propagating Genetic Nematicides

Location: Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research

Project Number: 5012-22000-023-001-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement

Start Date: May 15, 2019
End Date: Sep 14, 2022

Objective:
Evaluate the use of homing gene drives as a potentially novel and sustainable method to dramatically reduce Soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) populations in the field without the need to produce new SCN-resistant soybean varieties.

Approach:
We will evaluate two approaches to achieve the goal of implementing gene drives for SCN control. First, we will modify appropriate expression vectors to use SCN transcription control sequences for tissue-specific gene expression in SCN. The expression and heritability of transgenes in SCN will be assessed following particle bombardment and/or microinjection. Second, we will evaluate the use of nematode viruses to deliver gene drives to SCN germ-line cells. Infectious clones will be prepared from positive-sense nematode viruses identified under the project which will be modified to accept foreign gene sequences. Tools developed to edit, silence and over-express nematode genes also will aid in the identification and functional characterization of targets for SCN gene drives.