Four Most Pathogenic Superfamilies of Insect Pests of Suborder Sternorrhyncha: Invisible Superplunderers of Plant Vitality

Abstract

Sternorrhyncha representatives are serious pests of agriculture and forestry all over the world, primarily causing damage to woody plants. Sternorrhyncha members are vectors for the transfer of a large number of viral diseases, and subsequently, the host plant weakens. Additionally, many are inherent in the release of honeydew, on which fungal diseases develop. Today, an innovative approach is needed to create new and effective ways to control the number of these insects based on environmentally friendly insecticides. Of particular relevance to such developments is the need to take into account the large number of organisms living together with insect pests in this group, including beneficial insects. Practically without changing their location on their host plant, they adopted to be more invisible and protected due to their small size, symbiosis with ants, the ability to camouflage with a leaf, and moderately deplete plants and others, rarely leading them to death but still causing substantial economic loss in the subtropics and tropics. Due to the lack of presence in the literature, this review fills in this pesky spot by examining (on the example of distinct species from four superfamilies) the characteristic adaptations for this suborder and the chemical methods of combating these insects that allow them to survive in various environmental conditions, suggesting new and highly promising ways of using olinscides for plant protection against Sternorrhyncha members.

Oligonucleotide insecticides (contact unmodified antisense DNA biotechnology) and RNA biocontrols (double-stranded RNA technology): newly born fraternal twins in plant protection

“…Due to the deoxyribose residues present in oligonucleotide insecticides, they are less susceptible to hydrolysis in nature than RNA (Thorp, 2000), and the small length of the fragment makes the selectivity of such insecticides more manageable. For the effective action of oligonucleotide insecticides, the most convenient target is rRNA, which makes up the vast majority of all RNA in the cell (Oberemok et al, 2019; Gal’chinsky et al, 2020; Oberemok et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024). At the moment, oligonucleotide insecticides act most effectively on sap-sucking insects (Oberemok et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024).…”

“…For the effective action of oligonucleotide insecticides, the most convenient target is rRNA, which makes up the vast majority of all RNA in the cell (Oberemok et al, 2019; Gal’chinsky et al, 2020; Oberemok et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024). At the moment, oligonucleotide insecticides act most effectively on sap-sucking insects (Oberemok et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024). In turn, RNA biocontrols are long double-stranded RNA fragments for which contact and oral routes of delivery are used.…”

“…Obviously, biomolecules are most likely to have such characteristics (Christiaens et al, 2020; Oberemok et al, 2022; Palli, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024). Technologies in plant protection evolved and created opportunity of development of insecticides based on natural polymers, DNA and RNA, having the characteristics which past generations of chemical insecticides have never had (Oberemok et al, 2018a; Rank and Koch, 2021; Oberemok et al, 2023; Koeppe et al, 2023). Today, oligonucleotide insecticides (CUAD biotechnology) and RNA biocontrols (double-stranded RNA technology), homologous and at the same time different classes of insecticides, create a precedent for efficient and eco-friendly plant protection (Nitnavare et al, 2021; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024).…”

“…Also, oligonucleotide insecticides have already been successfully used against several sap-sucking insect pests (suborder Sternorrhyncha) targeting 28S rRNA ( Unaspis euonymi, Dynaspidiotus britannicus, Icerya purchasi, Ceroplastes japonicus, Aonidia lauri ) (Oberemok et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2023; Gal’chinsky et al, 2024), 18S rRNA ( Pseudococcus viburni ) (Novikov et al, 2023a), 16S rRNA ( Eriosoma lanigerum ) (unpublished data), as well as the internal transcribed spacer (ITS 2) of a polycistronic RNA transcript of Macrosiphoniella sanborni (Puzanova et al, 2023); and even ITS of mite Tetranychus urticae (Novikov et al, 2023b), showing potential of oligonucleotide acaricides. As a rule, after single contact treatment of sap-sucking insect pests with oligonucleotide insecticides at a concentration of 100 ng/μl high mortality (in average 85-90%) is observed in 3-14 days (Oberemok et al, 2023). Although oligonucleotide insecticides have proved its potential on hemipterans and lepidopterans, on coleopterans ( Leptinotarsa decemlineata ) they showed much less pronounced insecticidal effect (Oberemok et al, 2018b).…”

CUAD biotechnology offers 0.5 USD per hectare for aphid control: innovative platform for low-cost plant protection

“…It is believed that discoveries do not occur optimally, and it takes time for one or another significant discovery in science to find all the worthy places for its application in real life. Obviously, if P. Zamecnik and M. Stephenson in 1978 had discovered the effect of modified [8] and maybe later unmodified) antisense DNA on insect cells, then in addition to drugs, for several decades we would have had a class of insecticides based on antisense DNA [17,50]. However, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood.…”