Engineered Pine Endophytic Fungus Expressing dsRNA Targeting Lethal Genes to Control the Plant Parasitic Nematode .

The pine wood nematode (PWN), , is one of the most serious invasive forest pests, responsible for pine wilt disease (PWD). Currently, there are no effective, environmentally friendly control methods available. RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been extensively utilized to screen functional genes in eukaryotes and to explore sustainable pest management approaches through genetic engineering.

Identification of the Extracellular Nuclease Influencing Soaking RNA Interference Efficiency in .

RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency dramatically varies among different nematodes, which impacts research on their gene function and pest control. is a pine wood nematode in which RNAi-mediated gene silencing has unstable interference efficiency through soaking in dsRNA solutions, the factors of which remain unknown. Using agarose gel electrophoresis, we found that dsRNA can be degraded by nematode secretions in the soaking system which is responsible for the low RNAi efficiency.

Accumulation and Distribution of Fluorescent Microplastics in the Early Life Stages of Zebrafish.

As a new type of environmental pollutant, microplastic has been widely found in the aquatic environment and poses a high threat to aquatic organisms. The bioaccumulation of microplastics plays a key role in their toxic effects; however, as a particulate, their bioaccumulations are different from many other pollutants. Described here is a feasible method to visually determine the accumulation and distribution of microplastics in zebrafish embryos or larvae using fluorescent microplastics.