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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Martin EdwardsORCiD, Professor Angharad MR GatehouseORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2017 Francesca Laudani, et al. RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful strategy for gene function analysis, and it is also widely studied in view of a promising use in pest control. The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliver) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most devastating pests of palm in the world. Conventional pest management practices are not adequate to control this insect, thus the development of efficient approaches with minimal environmental impact are needed. In this work, the potential of RNAi in R. ferrugineus has been investigated through the silencing of three different genes (a-amylase, V-ATPase, Ecdysone receptor). For each gene we tested two different doses (1,500 and 5,500 ng) and two delivery techniques (injection and ingestion), evaluating both gene knockdown and mortality on insects. Results show that RNAi mediated gene silencing in R. ferrugineus varies from gene to gene, and that the response is dose-dependent, with stronger effects when dsRNA was administered by injection. In parallel, the same study was carried out with the model organism Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), with results showing a different pattern of response, although the two insects belong to the same order.
Author(s): Laudani F, Strano CP, Edwards MG, Malacrino A, Campolo O, El Halim HMA, Gatehouse AMR, Palmeri V
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Open Life Sciences
Year: 2017
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Pages: 214-222
Online publication date: 26/08/2016
Acceptance date: 04/06/2017
Date deposited: 24/10/2017
ISSN (print): 2391-5412
Publisher: De Gruyter Open Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2017-0025
DOI: 10.1515/biol-2017-0025
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