Enhancing RNAi by using concatemerized double-stranded RNA.

Background: RNA interference (RNAi) is a potential tool for functional characterization of genes and also in the management of insect pests. Accumulated literature reveals that the RNAi efficiency varies among insect species and is reported to be less efficient in lepidopteran insects.

Results: We attempted to enhance RNAi efficiency by concatemerizing short double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) sequence.

Genome-wide identification, expression profiling, and target gene analysis of microRNAs in the Onion thrips, Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), vectors of tospoviruses (Bunyaviridae).

Lindeman is an important polyphagous insect pest species estimated to cause losses of more than U.S. $1 billion worldwide annually.

Variation in Tomato spotted wilt virus titer in Frankliniella occidentalis and its association with frequency of transmission.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is transmitted in a persistent propagative manner by Frankliniella occidentalis, the western flower thrips. While it is well established that vector competence depends on TSWV acquisition by young larvae and virus replication within the insect, the biological factors associated with frequency of transmission have not been well characterized. We hypothesized that the number of transmission events by a single adult thrips is determined, in part, by the amount of virus harbored (titer) by the insect.