RNA interference depletion of the Halloween gene disembodied implies its potential application for management of planthopper Sogatella furcifera and Laodelphax striatellus

PLoS One. 2014 Jan 28;9(1):e86675. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086675. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Sogatella furcifera and Laodelphax striatellus are economically important rice pests in China by acting as vectors of several rice viruses, sucking the phloem sap and blocking the phloem vessels. Ecdysteroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone regulates insect development and reproduction. A cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP302A1 (22-hydroxylase), encoded by the Halloween gene disembodied (dib), plays a critical role in ecdysteroidogenesis. The objective of this study is to test whether dib genes are potential targets for RNA interference-based management of S. furcifera and L. striatellus. We cloned and characterized Sfdib and Lsdib. The open reading frame regions of dib genes were generated and used for designing and constructing dsRNA fragments. Experiments were conducted using oral delivery of dsdib to investigate the effectiveness of RNAi in S. furcifera and L. striatellus nymphs. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis demonstrated that continuous ingestion of dsdib at the concentration of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.50 mg/ml diminished Sfdib expression levels by 35.9%, 45.1% and 66.2%, and ecdysone receptor (SfEcR) gene mRNA levels by 34.0%, 36.2% and 58.5% respectively in S. furcifera, and decreased Lsdib expression level by 18.8%, 35.8% and 56.7%, and LsEcR mRNA levels by 25.2%, 46.8% and 68.8% respectively in L. striatellus. The reduction in dib and EcR transcript abundance resulted in observable phenotypes. The development of nymphs was impaired and the survival was negatively affected. Our data will enable the development of new insect control strategies and functional analysis of vital genes in S. furcifera and L. striatellus nymphs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Diet
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Genes, Insect*
  • Hemiptera / genetics*
  • Hemiptera / growth & development*
  • Insect Control*
  • Insect Proteins / chemistry
  • Insect Proteins / genetics
  • Larva / genetics
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Pest Control, Biological*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA Interference*
  • RNA, Double-Stranded / metabolism
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Insect Proteins
  • RNA, Double-Stranded
  • RNA, Messenger

Associated data

  • GENBANK/KC579455
  • GENBANK/KC579460

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2010CB126200) and the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (31360442). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.