Functional characterization of developmentally critical genes in the white‐backed planthopper: Efficacy of nanoparticle‐based dsRNA sprays for pest control

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), zinc finger homeodomain-2 (zfh-2), Abdominal-A (Abd-A), and Abdominal-B (Abd-B) regulate the growth and development of the insect abdomen. However, their potential roles in pest control have not been fully assessed. The development of insecticide resistance to multiple chemistries in the white-backed planthopper (WBPH), a major pest of rice, has prompted interest in novel pest control approaches that are ecologically friendly. Although pest management approaches based on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) have potential, their susceptibility to degradation limits large-scale field applications. These limitations, however, can be overcome with nanoparticle-dsRNA complexes that have greater environmental stability and improved cellular uptake.RESULTS: In this study, at 5 days post-injection, transcripts for the four gene targets were reduced relative to controls and all of the experimental groups exhibited significant phenotypic defects and increased mortality. To evaluate the potential of these gene targets for field applications, a nanocarrier-dsRNA spray delivery system was assessed for RNAi efficacy. At 11 days post-spray, significant phenotypic defects and increased mortality were observed in all experimental groups. CONCLUSION: Taken together, the results confirm the suitability of the target genes (SfEGFR, Sfzfh-2, SfAbd-A, and SfAbd-B) for pest management and demonstrate the efficacy of the nanocarrier spray system for inducing RNAi-mediated knockdown. As such, the study lays the foundation for the further development and optimization of this technology for large-scale field applications.

A systematic review of southern rice black‐streaked dwarf virus in the age of omics

“…125 They found that SfEGFR and Sfzfh-2 regulate S. furcifera growth and wing development, SfAbd-A and SfAbd-B are involved in genital development and wing expansion, and inhibiting SfTH resulted in pale body color and high mortality. 125,126 These genes can be used as molecular targets in RNAi-based strategies for controlling S. furcifera. Furthermore, they developed an easy, low-cost method for coating dsRNA in nanocarriers (Star polycation) to control S. furcifera, which prevents degradation by environmental and enzymatic dsRNA and shows promise for field applications.…”

“…showed that five genes are essential for S. furcifera development by studying the in vivo function of five target genes using RNAi‐mediated knockdown 125 . They found that SfEGFR and Sfzfh‐2 regulate S. furcifera growth and wing development, SfAbd‐A and SfAbd‐B are involved in genital development and wing expansion, and inhibiting SfTH resulted in pale body color and high mortality 125,126 . These genes can be used as molecular targets in RNAi‐based strategies for controlling S. furcifera .…”

“…These genes can be used as molecular targets in RNAi‐based strategies for controlling S. furcifera . Furthermore, they developed an easy, low‐cost method for coating dsRNA in nanocarriers (Star polycation) to control S. furcifera , which prevents degradation by environmental and enzymatic dsRNA and shows promise for field applications 125 …”

“…Furthermore, they developed an easy, low-cost method for coating dsRNA in nanocarriers (Star polycation) to control S. furcifera, which prevents degradation by environmental and enzymatic dsRNA and shows promise for field applications. 125 Dicer plays a vital role in a wide range of physiological processes in insects, including development and immunity. 127 Zeng et al discovered that SfDicer1 and SfDicer2 are involved in regulating molting, survival, reproduction, and wing expansion in S. furcifera.…”

“…SRBSDV transmission requires coat protein or non-structural proteins to bind to the insect receptors to spread, thus, disrupting the virus target receptor in the vector is one of the effective means to control its transmission. However, many areas still need to be addressed, including (a) the large-scale application of dsRNA-mediated RNAi-based pest management approaches, 125,142 (b) the impact of epigenetic methylation on the interactions between SRBSDV and S. furcifera, and (c) the impact of the gut microbiota of S. furcifera on the transmission of SRBSDV. Second, genetic resistance to plant virus diseases is the most economical and environmentally friendly control strategy.…”