Optimising symbiont-mediated RNA interference as a control measure for Western Flower Thrips and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

优化共生体介导的 RNA 干扰作为西花蓟马和番茄斑萎病毒的控制措施

• 批准号: BB/R006148/1
• 负责人: Paul Dyson
• 金额: $ 45.48万
• 依托单位: Swansea University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FR006148%2F1
• 关键词: Optimising; symbiont; mediated; RNA; interference

Current control strategies for agricultural insect pests are heavily reliant on chemical pesticides. However, there is no safe targeted chemical pesticide; these chemicals can also affect non-target beneficial insect species such as pollinating bees. The applicants have recently developed a new technology, symbiont-mediated RNA interference (SMR), that can be applied in a wide range of insects. This proposal will extend their success in applying SMR to control populations of Western Flower Thrips (WFT). WFT are a major pest of both vegetables and ornamental crops, and they feed on leaves, flowers, and pollen, of many plant species. They are globally distributed as an invasive species that has spread from western USA in the last 50 years. As a pesticide, SMR offers two-tier specificity, meaning that only the target species, and not beneficial species such as bees, should be affected. This proposal explores how the technology can be optimised for population control of WFT and whether it can be extended to limit transmission of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. This plant virus is transmitted by WFT and can infect over 1,000 species of plants in 84 families, giving it one of the broadest host ranges of any plant pathogen; it causes annual losses to agriculture worldwide of over $1 billion value. Demonstrating that SMR can prevent virus transmission by an insect will be an important proof-of-concept, with implications for how the technology could be applied in other contexts such as limiting the spread of Dengue and Zika viruses by mosquitoes. In addition, the research programme will provide experimental data to demonstrate target species specificity, for instance whether there could be any detrimental effects on honey bees, and whether horizontal gene transfer and the evolution of resistance could be concerns with respect to future field applications of the SMR technology.

目前的农业害虫控制策略严重依赖化学农药。然而，没有安全的目标化学农药;这些化学品也会影响非目标益虫物种，如授粉蜜蜂。申请人最近开发了一种新技术，共生体介导的RNA干扰（SMR），其可以应用于广泛的昆虫。这一建议将扩大他们在应用SMR控制西部花蓟马（WFT）种群方面的成功。白背飞虱是蔬菜和观赏作物的主要害虫，它们以许多植物物种的叶子、花和花粉为食。它们是全球分布的入侵物种，在过去的50年里从美国西部蔓延开来。作为一种杀虫剂，SMR具有双重特异性，这意味着只有目标物种而不是蜜蜂等有益物种应该受到影响。该提案探讨了如何优化该技术以控制WFT的种群，以及是否可以将其扩展到限制番茄斑萎病毒的传播。这种植物病毒通过WFT传播，可以感染84科1,000多种植物，使其成为任何植物病原体中宿主范围最广的植物之一;它每年给全球农业造成超过10亿美元的损失。证明SMR可以防止昆虫传播病毒将是一个重要的概念验证，并对该技术如何应用于其他环境产生影响，例如限制蚊子传播登革热和寨卡病毒。此外，该研究方案将提供实验数据，以证明目标物种的特异性，例如是否会对蜜蜂产生任何有害影响，以及横向基因转移和抗性演变是否会成为SMR技术未来实地应用的问题。

项目成果

Symbiont-Mediated RNA Interference (SMR): Using Symbiotic Bacteria as Vectors for Delivering RNAi to Insects.

• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1633-8_21
• 发表时间: 2022-01-01
• 期刊: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
• 作者: Dyson, Paul;Figueiredo, Marcela;Whitten, Miranda M A
• 通讯作者: Whitten, Miranda M A

Optimization of dietary RNA interference delivery to western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis and onion thrips Thrips tabaci.

• DOI: 10.1002/arch.21645
• 发表时间: 2020-03
• 期刊: ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY
• 影响因子: 2.2
• 作者: Andongma, Awawing A.;Greig, Carolyn;Dyson, Paul J.;Flynn, Natasha;Whitten, Miranda M. A.
• 通讯作者: Whitten, Miranda M. A.

A narrow host-range and lack of persistence in non-target insect species of symbiotic bacteria exploited to deliver insecticidal RNAi in Western Flower Thrips

用于在西花蓟马中提供杀虫 RNAi 的共生细菌的宿主范围狭窄且在非目标昆虫物种中缺乏持久性

• DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1964412/v1
• 发表时间: 2022
• 作者: Whitten M

Bacterial Competition Influences the Ability of Symbiotic Bacteria to Colonize Western Flower Thrips.

• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.883891
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Frontiers in microbiology
• 影响因子: 5.2

A narrow host-range and lack of persistence in two non-target insect species of a bacterial symbiont exploited to deliver insecticidal RNAi in Western Flower Thrips

• DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1093970
• 发表时间: 2023-03
• 期刊: Frontiers in Insect Science
• 作者: M. Whitten;Qi Xue;C. N. Taning;Reuben James;G. Smagghe;R. del Sol;M. Hitchings;P. Dyson