Patent ID: 8404927

Claim:
A recombinant DNA construct for plant cell transformation, comprising transcribable DNA that transcribes to a single RNA for silencing one or more target genes of a pest or pathogen of a plant, said DNA comprising operably linked two or more non-identical pairs of self-complementary sequences of said target genes, wherein said RNA comprises double-stranded RNA and has a stabilizing feature comprising multiple double-stranded RNA stems, said multiple double-stranded RNA stems comprising two or more non-identical pairs of self-complementary sequences, said stabilizing feature imparting improved resistance to a plant Dicer or Dicer-like enzyme relative to an RNA lacking said stabilizing feature, and wherein said one or more target genes of a pest or pathogen of a plant comprises a vacuolar ATPase gene, wherein the construct comprises SEQ ID NO:16 or SEQ ID NO: 17, wherein said pest or pathogen of a plant is a Diabrotica species.