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RNA Interference: History, Mechanisms, and Applications in Pest Management

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Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in the Tropics and Sub-tropics

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is emerging as a new technology for use in arthropod pest management. Unique features of RNAi-based methods including the specificity to the target pests and ability to knock down genes associated with insecticide resistance make this technology superior to the currently used pest management methods. The RNAi works best in coleopteran insects and also works well in some hemipteran insects. The RNAi does not work well in dipterans and lepidopteron insects. The RNAi could be used to study biology of insects, identify new target sites, fight insecticide resistance, regulate metabolism, produce sterile male insects, and suppress insect pest’s populations. In the near future, further research to improve RNAi in insects belonging to Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and other orders will lead to development of efficient and cheaper methods for production and delivery of double-stranded RNA, understanding potential for resistance development and effects on nontarget organisms. This will help in moving RNAi technology to field applications.

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Acknowledgments

The research in Palli laboratory was supported by the National Science Foundation (IBN 0421856), the National Institutes of Health (GM070559-07), and the National Research Initiative of the USDA-NIFA (2011-67013-30143). This report is contribution number 15-08-075 from the Kentucky Agricultural Experimental Station.

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  1. Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA

    Subba Reddy Palli

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  1. Subba Reddy Palli
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Correspondence to Subba Reddy Palli .

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  1. Division of Entomology and Nematology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Akshay Kumar Chakravarthy

  2. Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Shakunthala Sridhara

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Palli, S.R. (2016). RNA Interference: History, Mechanisms, and Applications in Pest Management. In: Chakravarthy, A., Sridhara, S. (eds) Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in the Tropics and Sub-tropics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1518-2_25

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