The invention provides nucleic acids, polypeptides, transgenic plants, compositions and methods for conferring pesticidal activity (e.g., insecticidal activity) to bacteria, plants, plant cells, tissues and seeds. Nucleic acids encoding the insecticidal proteins can be used to transform prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, including plants, to express the insecticidal proteins. The recombinant organisms and compositions containing the recombinant organisms or insecticidal proteins can be used to control a pest (e.g., an insect).

Transgenic INHT27 soybean plants comprising modifications of the DAS68416-4 soybean locus which provide for facile excision of the modified DAS68416-4 transgenic locus or portions thereof, methods of making such plants, and use of such plants to facilitate breeding are disclosed.

The present invention provides for soybean plant and seed comprising transformation event MON89788 and DNA molecules unique to these events. The invention also provides methods for detecting the presence of these DNA molecules in a sample.

Engineered Cry1Da amino acid sequences are provided that exhibit improved Lepidopteran insecticidal activity and an enhanced Lepidopteran spectrum compared to the naturally occurring Cry1Da protein toxin. Polynucleotide sequences intended for use in expression of the improved proteins in plants are also provided. Particular embodiments provide compositions containing insect inhibitory amounts of the engineered proteins, as well as recombinant plants, plant parts, and seeds containing polynucleotide constructs encoding one or more of the improved engineered proteins.

Compositions and methods for conferring pesticidal activity to bacteria, plants, plant cells, tissues and seeds are provided. Compositions comprising a coding sequence for a toxin polypeptide are provided. The coding sequences can be used in DNA constructs or expression cassettes for transformation and expression in plants and bacteria. Compositions also comprise transformed bacteria, plants, plant cells, tissues, and seeds. In particular, isolated toxin nucleic acid molecules are provided. Additionally, amino acid sequences corresponding to the polynucleotides are encompassed, and antibodies specifically binding to those amino acid sequences. In particular, the present invention provides for isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising nucleotide sequences encoding the amino acid sequence shown in any of SEQ ID NO:1-40, 42, 43, 45-48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 56, 58-64, 66, or 67, or the nucleotide sequence set forth in any of SEQ ID NO:69-106, as well as variants and fragments thereof.

The disclosure provides nucleic acids, and variants and fragments thereof, obtained from strains of Bacillus thuringiensis encoding polypeptides having pesticidal activity against insect pests, including Lepidopteran and Coleopteran. Particular embodiments of the disclosure provide isolated nucleic acids encoding pesticidal proteins, pesticidal compositions, DNA constructs, and transformed microorganisms and plants comprising a nucleic acid of the embodiments. These compositions find use in methods for controlling pests, especially plant pests.

Compositions and methods for controlling pests are provided. The methods involve transforming organisms with a nucleic acid sequence encoding an insecticidal protein. In particular, the nucleic acid sequences are useful for preparing plants and microorganisms that possess insecticidal activity. Thus, transformed bacteria, plants, plant cells, plant tissues and seeds are provided. Compositions are insecticidal nucleic acids and proteins of plant species. The sequences find use in the construction of expression vectors for subsequent transformation into organisms of interest including plants, as probes for the isolation of other homologous (or partially homologous) genes. The pesticidal proteins find use in controlling, inhibiting growth or killing Lepidopteran, Coleopteran, Dipteran, fungal, Hemipteran and nematode pest populations and for producing compositions with insecticidal activity.

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.

The subject invention relates in part to the surprising discovery that Cry1Da is active against corn earworm (CEW), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Methods for using Cry1Da in transgenic plants to prevent serious crop damage is described. Leaf and silk bioassays using transgenic maize expressing full length, core toxin region or chimeric Cry1Da demonstrated good insect protection against CEW larvae damage.

Plants, plant cells, and seeds are described herein that grow well and are resistant to environmental stresses such as drought and insects, where the plants have one or more mutations that reduce or eliminate the interaction of MYC transcription factors with the JAZ proteins. The plants can have an additional mutation that reduces or eliminates the function of the PHYB gene, and/or a heterologous PIF4 transgene or PIF4 expression cassette to improve the growth of the myc mutant plants. Methods of making and using such plants, plant cells, and seeds are also described.