The invention provides a gene, herein termed Hs4, which encodes a protein, also referred to as Hs4, which upon presence in plants confers resistance against plant parasitic nematodes, especially against the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii Schmidt. Specifically, the invention provides the use of plants containing the Hs4 gene for cultivation in the presence of nematodes, in soil of which the presence of nematodes is unknown and in soil that is free from nematodes

The present invention relates to control of pest infestation by inhibiting one or more biological functions. The invention provides methods and compositions for such control, By feeding one or more recombinant double stranded RNA molecules provided by the invention to the pest, a reduction in pest infestation is obtained through suppression of gene expression. The invention is also directed to methods for making transgenic plants that express the double stranded RNA molecules, and to particular combinations of transgenic pesticidal agents for use in protecting plants from pest infestation.

Compositions having pesticidal activity and methods for their use are provided. Compositions include isolated and recombinant polypeptides having pesticidal activity, recombinant and synthetic nucleic acid molecules encoding the polypeptides, DNA constructs and vectors comprising the nucleic acid molecules, host cells comprising the vectors, and antibodies to the polypeptides. Nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptides can be used in DNA constructs or expression cassettes for transformation and expression in organisms of interest. The compositions and methods provided are useful for producing organisms with enhanced pest resistance or tolerance. Transgenic plants and seeds comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a pesticidal protein of the invention are also provided. Such plants are resistant to insects and other pests. Methods are provided for producing the various polypeptides disclosed herein, and for using those polypeptides for controlling or killing a pest. Methods and kits for detecting polypeptides of the invention in a sample are also included.

Compositions having pesticidal activity and methods for their use are provided. Compositions include isolated and recombinant polypeptides having pesticidal activity, recombinant and synthetic nucleic acid molecules encoding the polypeptides, DNA constructs and vectors comprising the nucleic acid molecules, host cells comprising the vectors, and antibodies to the polypeptides. Nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptides can be used in DNA constructs or expression cassettes for transformation and expression in organisms of interest. The compositions and methods provided are useful for producing organisms with enhanced pest resistance or tolerance. Transgenic plants and seeds comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a pesticidal protein of the invention are also provided. Such plants are resistant to insects and other pests. Methods are provided for producing the various polypeptides disclosed herein, and for using those polypeptides for controlling or killing a pest. Methods and kits for detecting polypeptides of the invention in a sample are also included.

A peptide comprised of either a binary or a tertiary peptide, the peptide contains at least 4 amino acids and up to a maximum of 16 amino acids, comprised of 2 or 3 different regions, wherein the binary peptides have 2 different regions and the tertiary peptides have 3 different regions; wherein, the peptide can be cleaved by both an animal gut protease and an insect or nematode gut protease.

A method of producing a long dsRNA molecule in a plant cell that is capable of silencing a pest gene is provided, the method comprising: (a) selecting m a genome of a plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding a silencing molecule having a plant gene as a target, the silencing molecule capable of recruiting RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp); and (b) modifying a nucleic acid sequence of the plant gene so as to impart a silencing specificity towards the pest gene, such that a transcript of the plant gene comprising the silencing specificity forms base complementation with said silencing molecule capable of recruiting said RdRp to produce the long dsRNA molecule capable of silencing the pest gene, thereby producing the long dsRNA molecule m the plant cell that is capable of silencing the pest gene.

An expression increasing element comprising a 36 nucleotide DNA sequence that can be used to increase the expression of genes, and in particular to increase the expression of endogenous plant genes, in plants is disclosed. Also disclosed are plants, plant parts, and commodity plant products comprising the expression increasing element along with related methods of using the expression increasing element and plants comprising the expression increasing element.

Methods of increasing the resistance of plants, in particular soybeans, to nematodes, in particular soybean cyst nematodes, are provided herein. The methods include increasing the expression of Glyma18g02580, Glyma18g02590 and/or Glyma18g2610 in cells of a plant and in particular in root cells of a plant to increase the resistance of the plant and plant cells to nematodes. The methods include increasing the expression using constitutive promoters or by increasing the copy number of the polynucleotides. Constructs for expressing these polypeptides, transgenic cells, transgenic plants and methods of generating the same are also provided. Methods of screening plant cells for resistance or susceptibility to nematodes are also provided.

The invention relates to genes which may be utilized to induce resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and/or other abiotic or biotic stresses. More specifically the present disclosure provides genes that, when inactivated and/or overexpressed (for example, overexpression of genes encoding kinase-dead mutants) in a plant, particularly, a soybean plant, can confer upon the plant resistance to SCN and/or other abiotic or biotic stresses. Methods of using these genes to obtain plants, particularly soybean plants, that are resistant to SCN and/or other abiotic or biotic stresses are also provided.

Compositions having pesticidal activity and methods for their use are provided. Compositions include isolated and recombinant polypeptides having pesticidal activity, recombinant and synthetic nucleic acid molecules encoding the polypeptides, DNA constructs and vectors comprising the nucleic acid molecules, host cells comprising the vectors, and antibodies to the polypeptides. Nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptides can be used in DNA constructs or expression cassettes for transformation and expression in organisms of interest. The compositions and methods provided are useful for producing organisms with enhanced pest resistance or tolerance. Transgenic plants and seeds comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a pesticidal protein of the invention are also provided. Such plants are resistant to insects and other pests. Methods are provided for producing the various polypeptides disclosed herein, and for using those polypeptides for controlling or killing a pest. Methods and kits for detecting polypeptides of the invention in a sample are also included.