[en] Grain aphid (Sitobion miscanthi) is one of the most dominant and devastating insect pests in wheat, which causes substantial losses to wheat production each year. Engineering transgenic plants expressing double strand RNA (dsRNA) targeting an insect-specific gene has been demonstrated to provide an alternative environmentally friendly strategy for aphid management through plant-mediated RNA interference (RNAi). Here we identified and characterized a novel potential RNAi target gene (SmDSR33) which was a gene encoding a putative salivary protein. We then generated stable transgenic wheat lines expressing dsRNA for targeted silencing of SmDSR33 in grain aphids through plant-mediated RNAi. After feeding on transgenic wheat plants expressing SmDSR33-dsRNA, the attenuated expression levels of SmDSR33 in aphids were observed when compared to aphids feeding on wild-type plants. The decreased SmDSR33 expression levels thus resulted in significantly reduced fecundity and survival, and decreased reproduction of aphids. We also observed altered aphid feeding behaviors such as longer duration of intercellular stylet pathway and shorter duration of passive ingestion in electroneurography assays. Furthermore, both the surviving aphids and their offspring exhibited decreased survival rates and fecundity, indicating that the silencing effect could be persistent and transgenerational in grain aphids. The results demonstrated that SmDSR33 can be selected as an effective RNAi target for wheat aphid control. Silencing of an essential salivary protein gene involved in ingestion through plant-mediated RNAi could be exploited as an effective strategy for aphid control in wheat.
Disciplines :
Entomology & pest control
Author, co-author :
Zhang, Jiahui ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
Li, Huiyuan; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China ; Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Gembloux, Belgium
Zhong, Xue ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
Tian, Jinfu ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
Segers, Arnaud ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Xia, Lanqin; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China ; National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, Hainan, China
Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Language :
English
Title :
Silencing an aphid-specific gene SmDSR33 for aphid control through plant-mediated RNAi in wheat.
We apologize to those whose work we were unable to cite due to space and reference limitations. Part of this work is funded by the Shennong Laboratory, Zhengzhou Henan 450002, China (SN01-2022-01), the Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ZDXM03, S2021ZD03) and National Engineering Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding. JZ was supported by the China Scholarship Council (No. 202003250096) and GSCAAS-ULg Joint PhD Program.
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