Journal article
Horizontally transferred genes as RNA interference targets for aphid and whitefly control
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, v 21(4), p754
Apr 2023
PMID: 36577653
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi)-based technologies are starting to be commercialized as a new approach for agricultural pest control. Horizontally transferred genes (HTGs), which have been transferred into insect genomes from viruses, bacteria, fungi or plants, are attractive targets for RNAi-mediated pest control. HTGs are often unique to a specific insect family or even genus, making it unlikely that RNAi constructs targeting such genes will have negative effects on ladybugs, lacewings and other beneficial predatory insect species. In this study, we sequenced the genome of a red, tobacco-adapted isolate of Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) and bioinformatically identified 30 HTGs. We then used plant-mediated virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to show that several HTGs of bacterial and plant origin are important for aphid growth and/or survival. Silencing the expression of fungal-origin HTGs did not affect aphid survivorship but decreased aphid reproduction. Importantly, although there was uptake of plant-expressed RNA by Coccinella septempunctata (seven-spotted ladybugs) via the aphids that they consumed, we did not observe negative effects on ladybugs from aphid-targeted VIGS constructs. To demonstrate that this approach is more broadly applicable, we also targeted five Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) HTGs using VIGS and demonstrated that knockdown of some of these genes affected whitefly survival. As functional HTGs have been identified in the genomes of numerous pest species, we propose that these HTGs should be explored further as efficient and safe targets for control of insect pests using plant-mediated RNA interference.
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Details
- Title
- Horizontally transferred genes as RNA interference targets for aphid and whitefly control
- Publication Details
- PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, v 21(4), p754
- Publisher
- WILEY; HOBOKEN
- Grant note
- This research funded through the United Stated Department of Agriculture awards 2021-67013-33565 and 2021-67014-342357 to GJ, agreement HR0011-17-2-0053 from the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Insect Allies Program with the Boyce Thompson Institute, a scholarship from the International Research Support Initiative Program of the Pakistan Higher Education Commission to SH 1-8/HEC/HRD/2020/10897, and the Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund award FI-471-2012 to VT.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Drexel University
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000922351300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85146792245
- Other Identifier
- 991021861172204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
- Plant Sciences