Gene silencing by RNAi via oral delivery of dsRNA by bacteria in the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta.

Background: RNA interference (RNAi) has been evaluated in several insect pests as a novel strategy to be included in integrated pest management. Lepidopterans are recognized to be recalcitrant to gene silencing by RNAi. As such, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) delivery needs to be adjusted to assure its stability until it reaches the target gene transcript for silencing.

Experimental power considerations--justifying replication for animal care and use committees.

A common practice in poultry science is to compare new treatments with a control or between treatments tested in planned experiments. The overall F-test from an ANOVA of the data allows the researcher to reject or not reject the null hypothesis. However, the correct conclusion from such analysis depends on sufficient replicates being included in the experiment.