[en] The grain aphid, Sitobion miscanthi, poses a serious threat to cereal crops worldwide, leading to considerable yield losses and demanding annual insecticide applications during the grain-filling stage. As a sustainable alternative, we explored host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) targeting an aphid-specific gene. In this study, we identified SmDSR32, a novel gene encoding a salivary peptide in S. miscanthi, and validated its suitability for RNAi. Transgenic wheat lines expressing SmDSR32-dsRNA were generated. Aphids feeding on these lines showed a 20-fold reduction in SmDSR32 transcript levels compared with controls. This silencing disrupted normal feeding behavior in electropenetrography (EPG) analyses, characterized by a 1.94-fold prolongation of intercellular probing and a 61% shortening of phloem ingestion. Consequently, aphid performance was severely compromised, with at least a 56.7% decrease in survival, a shortening of 5 days in lifespan, and a reduction of 9-10 individuals in aphid progeny production. Impressively, upon being transferred to wild-type plants, both the surviving aphids and their progeny sustained fitness deficits, with a 30% reduction in survival still observed in the first generation. These findings validate SmDSR32 as a potent RNAi target and establish HIGS targeting essential salivary genes as a promising strategy for sustainable aphid management in wheat.
Disciplines :
Entomology & pest control
Author, co-author :
Zhang, Jiahui ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China ; College of Life Science and Agronomy, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou 466001, China
Zhong, Xue ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Entomologie, Phytopathologie et Productions Innovantes (EPPI) ; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Cao, Mingxin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Entomologie, Phytopathologie et Productions Innovantes (EPPI) ; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Xu, Jiajing ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Entomologie, Phytopathologie et Productions Innovantes (EPPI) ; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Qin, Mengchao ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Entomologie, Phytopathologie et Productions Innovantes (EPPI) ; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Entomologie, Phytopathologie et Productions Innovantes (EPPI)
Xia, Lanqin; Institute of Crop Sciences/National Nanfan Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Sanya 572024, China ; State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
✱ These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Host-Induced Gene Silencing of SmDSR32 Enhances Wheat Defense Against Sitobion miscanthi.
Publication date :
17 May 2026
Journal title :
Current Issues in Molecular Biology
ISSN :
1467-3037
eISSN :
1467-3045
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Switzerland
NSCF - National Natural Science Foundation of China CSC - China Scholarship Council
Funding text :
This research was funded by The Shenong Laboratory (Grant No. SN01-2022-01 to L.X) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32188102 to L.X). X.Z. was supported by the China Scholarship Council (No. 202303250062) and the GSCAAS-ULiege Joint PhD Program.
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