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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Insect Sci.
Sec. Insect Molecular Genetics
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/finsc.2025.1574585
Differential RNAi Efficacy of siRNA and dsRNA Targeting Key Genes for Pest Control in Spodoptera litura
Provisionally accepted- Department of Entomology, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising gene-silencing technique for pest control that targets essential genes. We assessed the potential of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence mesh or iap genes in the midguts of Spodoptera litura larvae. Despite the theoretical promise of RNAi approaches, our findings revealed that dsRNA did not induce significant gene silencing or impact larval growth, whereas siRNA exhibited clear insecticidal effects, likely by disrupting intestinal osmoregulation and impairing larval fitness. Detailed analysis indicated that dsRNA could not be efficiently converted into functional siRNA in the midguts of S. litura, possibly due to the low expression levels of Dicer-2 and the rapid degradation of dsRNA within the gut environment. Furthermore, while dsRNA demonstrated greater environmental stability than siRNA under soil conditions, the inability of S. litura to process dsRNA effectively limits its viability as a pest control agent. These findings indicate the critical role of Dicer-2 in RNAi-mediated gene silencing and highlight the challenges and limitations of employing dsRNA-based genetic pesticides in lepidopteran species.
Keywords: RNA Interference, Mesh, IAP, Spodoptera litura, Agricultural pest, Biopesticides, Dicer-2
Received: 11 Feb 2025; Accepted: 01 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Lu, Liu, Su, Lin and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yu-Hsien Lin, Department of Entomology, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
Yueh-Lung Wu, Department of Entomology, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
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