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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #380393
Research Project: Sustainable Pest Management for Arid-Land Agroecosystems

Location: Pest Management and Biocontrol Research

Title: Transgenic double-stranded RNA rice, a potential strategy for controlling striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis)

Author
item MAO, CUI - National Institute Of Plant Genome Research
item ZHU, XIAOPING - National Institute Of Plant Genome Research
item WANG, PEIPEI - Huazhong Agricultural University
item HUANG, RENLIANG - National Institute Of Plant Genome Research
item ZHOA, MINGCHAO - National Institute Of Plant Genome Research
item Hull, Joe
item LIN, YONGJUN - National Institute Of Plant Genome Research
item MA, WEIHUA - Huazhong Agricultural University

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2021
Publication Date: 12/4/2021
Citation: Mao, C., Zhu, X., Wang, P., Huang, R., Zhoa, M., Hull, J.J., Lin, Y., Ma, W. 2021. Transgenic double-stranded RNA rice, a potential strategy for controlling striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis). Pest Management Science. 78(2):785-792. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6692.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6692

Interpretive Summary: In recent years, approaches centered around target pest ingestion of plant-derived nucleic acids have proven effective for controlling a number of agricultural pests including larvae from a number of moths. The current study was conducted to assess the utility and feasibility of a similar approach for controlling the striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis), a significant pest of rice that is largely managed via chemical pesticides. A small heat shock protein gene in the striped stem borer was identified in an initial screen of 35 candidate genes. Using this gene, a number of transgenic rice plants were generated and their resistance to striped stem borer feeding was determined. Larvae that fed on three of the rice plants were characterized by increased mortality, reduced development, and abnormal coloration. Additional molecular analyses confirmed that the target small heat shock protein gene was poorly expressed in these larvae. This study indicates that a plant-based method management approach may be effective for controlling the striped stem borer.

Technical Abstract: BACKGROUND: Although the striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis Walker) is a devastating pest of rice that causes significant economic losses, management options are currently limited. Plant-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) is an emerging crop protection technique in which transgenic plants are modified to express insect-specific double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that trigger RNAi silencing in target pests. RESULT: In this study, an RNAi-based screen of 35 candidate SSB genes identified a small heat shock protein gene (CssHsp) as a potential plant-based RNAi target. To assess its utility in planta, a total of 39 transgenic rice plants were generated, with 11 independent transformants found to contain a single copy of the dsCssHsp expression cassette. In lifetime feeding bioassays, three transgenic lines (DS10, DS35, DS36) were found to have significant negative impacts on SSB populations. After feeding for 8 days, mortality in the three transgenic lines exceeded 60%. By pupation, mortality further increased to 90% and few SSB sur- vived to eclosion. Gene expression analyses confirmed that CssHsp transcript levels were significantly reduced after feeding on the transgenic dsCssHsp rice.