Method and system for protecting honey bees, bats and butterflies from neonicotinoid pesticides

• US 10,568,916 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2018
• Issued: 02/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seed Health, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Joseph E. Kovarik
• Inventors: Kovarik, Joseph E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ogunbiyi, Oluwatosin A
• Application Number:
  US16/139,232
• Publication Number:
  US 20190022151A1
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 35/74 Bacteria therapeutic use of a bacterial protein A61K38/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 35/741 Probiotics probiotic yeast, e.g. saccharomyces A61K36/06
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 1/00 Microorganisms, e.g. protozoa; Compositions thereof medicinal preparations containing material from protozoa, bacteria or viruses A61K35/66, from algae A61K36/02, from fungi A61K36/06; preparing medicinal bacterial antigen or antibody compositions, e.g. bacterial vaccines, A61K39/00; Processes of propagating, maintaining or preserving microorganisms or compositions thereof; Processes of preparing or isolating a composition containing a microorganism; Culture media therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 1/20 Bacteria; Culture media therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 1/205 Bacterial isolates
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2310/20 involving clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats [CRISPRs]
• CPC Class Codes: C12R 2001/00 Microorganisms ; Processes using microorganisms
• CPC Class Codes: C12R 2001/01 Bacteria or Actinomycetales ; using bacteria or Actinomycetales

Abstract

A method and system for the treatment of honey bees (Apis mellifera), bats, and butterflies protects them from various life threatening conditions, including Colony Collapse Disorder, white nose syndrome, etc. and in particular, provides honey bees, bats and butterflies with the ability to assimilate and degrade neonicotinoids.

Claims

1. A method for providing a honey bee with the ability to assimilate neonicotinoid pesticides, comprising, inoculating a honey bee with a culture of neonicotinoid degrading bacteria, wherein the neonicotinoid degrading bacteria include genes whose expression by the neonicotinoid degrading bacteria results in the degradation of the neonicotinoid acetamiprid, said genes comprising a SCL3-10 nitrile hydratase beta subunit gene, said neonicotinoid degrading bacteria being modified to include said genes using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) CRISPR associated protein (Cas) system or using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) from prevotella and francisella 1 (Cpf1) nuclease.

2. A method for providing a honey bee with the ability to assimilate neonicotinoid pesticides, comprising, inoculating a honey bee with a culture of neonicotinoid degrading bacteria, wherein the neonicotinoid degrading bacteria include genes whose expression by the neonicotinoid degrading bacteria results in the degradation of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, said genes comprising a CYP353D1v2 gene, and said neonicotinoid degrading bacteria being modified to include said genes using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) CRISPR associated protein (Cas) system.

3. A method for providing a honey bee with the ability to assimilate neonicotinoid pesticides, comprising, inoculating the gut of a honey bee with a culture of microbes that normally inhabit the honey bee gut, said microbes possessing the ability to degrade neonicotinoid pesticides, said microbes comprising neonicotinoid degrading bacteria that have genes selected from the group consisting of a CYP353D1v2 gene and a SCL3-10 nitrile hydratase beta subunit gene, and wherein the neonicotinoid degrading microbes have been modified using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) from prevotella and francisella 1 (Cpf1) nuclease, such that the expression of said genes results in the degradation by said microbes of at least one neonicotinoid selected from the group of acetamiprid and imidacloprid.