Mechanisms of dsRNA uptake in insects and potential of RNAi for pest control: A review

Diet-delivered RNAi in Helicoverpa armigera – Progresses and challenges

“…Previous studies on insect RNAi have reported greater success with dsRNA molecules of >50-200 bp in length (Huvenne and Smagghe, 2010). Research on ingestion-mediated RNAi in H. armigera has seen knockdown using dsRNA sequences ranging from 100-1,068…”

Developing an in vivo toxicity assay for RNAi risk assessment in honey bees, Apis mellifera L

“…Following the discovery of RNAi, a number of authors have suggested a possible role for RNAi for insect pest management (Huvenne and Smagghe, 2010). The successful use of RNAi as a pest management tool depends on the identification of target genes essential for the insect to function (e.g.…”

“…The successful use of RNAi as a pest management tool depends on the identification of target genes essential for the insect to function (e.g. housekeeping genes), genes with high mRNA turnover coding for proteins with short half-life, stability of dsRNA, and the ability to deliver sufficient amounts of dsRNA (Huvenne and Smagghe, 2010;Scott et al, 2013). The potential applications for RNAi in pest management include oral administration of dsRNA in baits (Zhou et al, 2008), embedded in nanoparticles (Zhang et al, 2010), expressed in E. coli and formulated as a biological insecticide (Zhu et al, 2011), or expressed in transgenic plants (Baum et al, 2007;Mao et al, 2007).…”

Parental RNA interference of genes involved in embryonic development of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte

“…This pathway has been implicated as a mechanism of defense against invasive nucleic acids from viruses or from mobile genetic elements, and has been conclusively shown to regulate gene expression in virtually all eukaryotic organisms (Fire, 2007;Hussain et al, 2010;Huvenne and Smagghe, 2010;Scott et al, 2013;Terenius et al, 2011).…”

“…While injection of dsRNA for functional genomics studies has been successful in a variety of insects, uptake of dsRNA from the gut environment through oral exposure to dsRNA and subsequent downregulation of essential genes is required in order for RNAi to be Terenius et al, 2011). Systemic RNAi through oral administration effective as a pest management tool (Auer and Frederick, 2009 has been documented in a number of different species representing seven different orders (Huvenne and Smagghe, 2010).…”