Engineered microbial population
View Patent ↗Provided herein are genetically engineered bacteria that are native to a host insect microbiome. Further provided are methods of inducing RNA interference in an insect, such as a bee, by administering the genetically engineered bacteria.
1. A bee-ingestible microbial composition comprising one or more bacteria genetically engineered to express at least one heterologous nucleic acid, wherein the heterologous nucleic acid is heterologous to a host bee, and further wherein the one or more bacteria are selected from the group consisting of Snodgrassella alvi, Bartonella apis, Gilliamella apicola , and Parasaccharibacter apium.
2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the host bee is selected from the group consisting of a honey bee and a bumble bee.
3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises 2, 3, 4, or 5 bacterial species selected from the group consisting of Snodgrassella alvi, Bartonella apis, Gilliamella apicola, Serratia marcescens , and Parasaccharibacter apium.
4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the one or more bacteria express at least two heterologous nucleic acids.
5. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the heterologous nucleic acid encodes a polypeptide.
6. The composition of claim 5 , wherein the heterologous nucleic acid encodes a pesticide degrading polypeptide or a cytochrome.
7. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the heterologous nucleic acid is an inhibitory nucleic acid.
8. The composition of claim 7 , wherein the inhibitory nucleic acid is selected from the group consisting of an antisense DNA, dsRNA, siRNA, shRNA, sgRNA and a miRNA.
9. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises a broad host range plasmid that either comprises or can express the at least one heterologous nucleic acid.
10. The composition of claim 9 , wherein the broad host range plasmid comprises at least one regulatory sequence selected from the group consisting of an RSF 1010 origin of replication, a PA1 promoter sequence, a PA2 promoter sequence, a PA3 promoter sequence, a cp25 promoter sequence, and a detectable marker.
11. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of:
a) a live suspension comprising the bacteria,
b) a lyophilized powder comprising the bacteria,
c) a solid comprising the bacteria,
d) a liquid comprising the bacteria,
e) protein,
f) pollen,
g) a sucrose solution comprising the bacteria, and
h) a corn syrup solution comprising the bacteria.
12. The composition of claim 11 , further comprising a carbohydrate or sugar supplement.
13. A bee comprising the composition of claim 1 .
14. The bee of claim 13 , wherein the bee is a honey bee.