AUTHOR=Li Fengqi , Di Zhongjuan , Tian Jiahui , Dewer Youssef , Qu Cheng , Yang Shiyong , Luo Chen 

TITLE=Silencing the gustatory receptor BtGR11 affects the sensing of sucrose in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.1054943

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.1054943

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>RNA interference (RNAi) is powerful biotechnology for studying the <italic>in vivo</italic> functions of key genes. Based on this property, RNAi can also be used for pest control as an effective alternative to chemical pesticides. The management of phloem-sucking pests is a tricky issue in current agricultural and forestry pest control. RNAi can silence key chemoreceptor genes of phloem-sucking pests; thereby regulating the behavior of these pests can be manipulated. So, it is considered to be a promising new type of ecological pest management strategy. In this study, we identified a candidate taste receptor gene, <italic>BtGR11</italic>, that controls the taste sensitivity to sucrose in the whitefly <italic>Bemisia tabaci</italic>, which is a serious invasive phloem-sucking pest worldwide. Functional analyses using the <italic>Xenopus</italic> oocyte expression system and the two-electrode voltage-clamp system revealed that the oocytes expressing BtGR11 responded to sucrose. Furthermore, we found that silencing <italic>BtGR11</italic> by RNAi inhibited the function of sensing sucrose in the whitefly. This study reports a key chemoreceptor gene that can be used for the understanding of the gustatory sensing mechanisms of whitefly to deterrent.</p>