RNAi: Applications in Vertebrate Pest Management

Plant-derived artificial miRNA effectively reduced the proliferation of aphid (Aphidoidea) through spray-induced gene silencing

BACKGROUND

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are notorious sap-sucking insects that rampantly threaten agricultural production worldwide. Current management against aphids in the field heavily relies on chemical pesticides, which makes economical and eco-friendly methods urgently needed. Spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) offers a powerful and precise approach to pest management. However, the high costs and instability of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) regulators applied for downstream RNA interference (RNAi) still limit this strategy. It remains uncertain if RNAi regulators applied in SIGS could extend to small RNA (sRNA), especially miRNA.

RESULTS

We chose two sRNA sequences, miR-9b and miR-VgR, whose corresponding targets ABCG4 and VgR are both essential for aphid growth and development. The efficacy of these sequences was initially verified by chemically synthetic single-stranded RNA (syn-ssRNA). Through spray treatment, we observed a significantly decreased survival number and increased abnormality rate of green peach aphids fed on the host under laboratory conditions. Based on our previous study, we generated transgenic plants expressing artificial miR-9b (amiR-9b) and miR-VgR (amiR-VgR). Remarkably, plant-derived amiRNA exerted potent and long-lasting inhibitory efficacy with merely one percent concentration of chemical synthetics. Notably, the simultaneous application of amiR-9b and amiR-VgR exhibited superior inhibitory efficacy.

CONCLUSION

We explored the potential use of sRNA-based biopesticide through SIGS while investigating the dosage requirements. To optimize this strategy, the utilization of plant-derived amiRNA was proposed. The results suggested that attributed to stability and durability, deploying amiRNA in pest management is a potential and promising solution for the field application. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

A decade-long study demonstrates that a population of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) can be controlled by introducing sterilized males

The release of sterilized insects to control pest populations has been used successfully during the past 6 decades, but application of the method in vertebrates has largely been overlooked or met with failure. Here, we demonstrate for the first time in fish, that a small population of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus; Class Agnatha), arguably one of the most impactful invasive fish in the world, can be controlled by the release of sterilized males. Specifically, the release of high numbers of sterile males (~ 1000's) into a geographically isolated population of adult sea lamprey resulted in the first multiyear delay in pesticide treatment since treatments began during 1966. Estimates of percent reduction in recruitment of age-1 sea lamprey due to sterile male release ranged from 7 to 99.9% with the precision of the estimate being low because of substantial year-to-year variability in larval density and distribution. Additional monitoring that accounts for recruitment variability in time and space would reduce uncertainty in the degree to which sterile male release reduces recruitment rates. The results are relevant to vertebrate pest control programs worldwide, especially as technical opportunities to sterilize vertebrates and manipulate sex ratios expand.

Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat and the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that thrive in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely challenging to detect. Here we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the science relevant to managing invasive Burmese pythons. We describe existing control tools and review challenges to productive research, identifying key knowledge gaps that would improve future research and decision making for python control.

Recent advances in anti-multidrug resistance for nano-drug delivery system

Chemotherapy for tumors occasionally results in drug resistance, which is the major reason for the treatment failure. Higher drug doses could improve the therapeutic effect, but higher toxicity limits the further treatment. For overcoming drug resistance, functional nano-drug delivery system (NDDS) has been explored to sensitize the anticancer drugs and decrease its side effects, which are applied in combating multidrug resistance (MDR) via a variety of mechanisms including bypassing drug efflux, controlling drug release, and disturbing metabolism. This review starts with a brief report on the major MDR causes. Furthermore, we searched the papers from NDDS and introduced the recent advances in sensitizing the chemotherapeutic drugs against MDR tumors. Finally, we concluded that the NDDS was based on several mechanisms, and we looked forward to the future in this field.

Gel Carriers for Plant Extracts and Synthetic Pesticides in Rodent and Arthropod Pest Control: An Overview

Insecticides and rodenticides form the basis of integrated pest management systems worldwide. As pest resistance continues to increase and entire groups of chemical active ingredients are restricted or banned, manufacturers are looking for new options for more effective formulations and safer application methods for the remaining pesticide ingredients. In addition to new technological adaptations of mainstream formulations in the form of sprays, fumigants, and dusts, the use of gel formulations is becoming increasingly explored and employed. This article summarizes information on the current and potential use of gel (including hydrogel) and paste formulations against harmful arthropods or rodents in specific branches of pest management in the agricultural, food, stored product, structural wood, urban, medical, and public health areas. Due to the worldwide high interest in natural substances, part of the review was devoted to the use of gels for the formulation of pesticide substances of botanical origin, such as essential or edible oils. Gels as emerging formulation of so called “smart insecticides” based on molecular iRNA disruptors are discussed.

Uniting RNAi Technology and Conservation Biocontrol to Promote Global Food Security and Agrobiodiversity

Habitat loss and fragmentation, and the effects of pesticides, contribute to biodiversity losses and unsustainable food production. Given the United Nation's (UN's) declaration of this decade as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we advocate combining conservation biocontrol-enhancing practices with the use of RNA interference (RNAi) pesticide technology, the latter demonstrating remarkable target-specificity via double-stranded (ds)RNA's sequence-specific mode of action. This specificity makes dsRNA a biosafe candidate for integration into the global conservation initiative. Our interdisciplinary perspective conforms to the UN's declaration, and is facilitated by the Earth BioGenome Project, an effort valuable to RNAi development given its utility in providing whole-genome sequences, allowing identification of genetic targets in crop pests, and potentially relevant sequences in non-target organisms. Interdisciplinary studies bringing together biocontrol-enhancing techniques and RNAi are needed, and should be examined for various crop‒pest systems to address this global problem.