Abstract
Gene suppression via RNA interference (RNAi) provides an alternative strategy for insect pest management. Insect pests cost billions of dollars in the form of crop losses and insecticides, and farmers face an ever-present threat of insecticide resistance, fueling a continual search for alternative pest-control strategies. Of late, novel insect pest management strategies like transgenic plants expressing insecticidal crystal protein genes from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are effective in managing the insect pests that belong to Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. But success of the above technology is threatened by accelerated development of resistance, which is also true with chemical insecticides. Therefore, there is a need for identifying some additional effective pest management strategies, which could also augment integrated pest management (IPM). In this scenario, RNA interference (RNAi) offers a great deal of hope in successful mitigation of various insect pests. This review will feature late endeavors to comprehend the boundaries to RNA conveyance in headstrong insect species, depict late advances in the commercial development of insect -protected crops and biological insecticides using RNAi, and talk about this methodology with regards to an integrated pest management approach.
Highlights
Life stage of the target organismVectors containing inverted repeats separated by an intron produce double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) or hairpin RNA (hpRNA) which effectively silences genes of interest
Gene suppression via RNA interference (RNAi) provides an alternative strategy for insect pest management
RNA interference (RNAi) is the specific downregulation of gene expression by double-stranded RNA involving degradation of a target mRNA through the production of small interfering RNAs from the dsRNA, which is cleaved by dsRNA-specific endonucleases referred to as dicers (Figure 1)
Summary
Vectors containing inverted repeats separated by an intron produce double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) or hairpin RNA (hpRNA) which effectively silences genes of interest. Specific promoter, inverted repeats, and an intron spacer are used to produce the best RNAi effects. Insect systemic RNAi was first documented in another model insect Tribolium castaneum (flour beetle) and multiple genes such as TcASH, Distalless, maxillopedia and proboscipedia were targeted by injection of specific dsRNA [9]. Transcript level of a larval gut-expressed gene (EposCXE1) and adult antennae expressed gene (EposPBP1) were reduced by feeding specific dsRNA [10]. Microinjection of dsRNA into adults and larvae has been used to silence genes in Tribolium castaneum. Bombarding cells with double-stranded (ds) RNA, siRNA, or DNA constructs that encode hairpin RNA can produce transient silencing of target reporter genes
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