RNA interference (RNAi) offers a novel tool to manage hemipteran pests. For the success of RNAi based pest control in the field, a robust and systemic RNAi response is a prerequisite. We identified and characterized major genes of the RNAi machinery, Dicer2 (Dcr2), Argonaute2 (Ago2), and R2d2 in Aphis glycines, a serious pest of soybean. The A. glycines genome encodes for at least one copy of Dcr2, R2d2 and Ago2. Comparative and molecular evolution analyses (dN/dS) showed that domain regions of encoded proteins are highly conserved, whereas linker (non-domain) regions are diversified. Sequence homology and phylogenetic analyses suggested that the RNAi machinery of A. glycines is more similar to that of Tribolium casteneum as compared to that of Drosophila melanogaster. We also characterized Sid1, a major gene implicated in the systemic response for RNAi-mediated gene knockdown. Through qPCR, Dcr2, R2d2, Ago2, and Sid1 were found to be expressed at similar levels in various tissues, but higher expression of Dcr2, R2d2, and Ago2 was seen in first and second instars. Characterization of RNAi pathway and Sid1 in A. glycines will provide the foundation of future work for controlling one of the most important insect pests of soybean in North America.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms14023786 | DOI Listing |
Pest Manag Sci
January 2025
Dpto. Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
Background: Chitin is a crucial component of fungal cell walls and an effective elicitor of plant immunity; however, phytopathogenic fungi have developed virulence mechanisms to counteract the activation of this plant defensive response. In this study, the molecular mechanism of chitin-induced suppression through effectors involved in chitin deacetylases (CDAs) and their degradation (EWCAs) was investigated with the idea of developing novel dsRNA-biofungicides to control the cucurbit powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera xanthii.
Results: The molecular mechanisms associated with the silencing effect of the PxCDA and PxEWCAs genes were first studied through dsRNA cotyledon infiltration assays, which revealed a ≈80% reduction in fungal biomass and a 50% decrease in gene expression.
Nat Commun
January 2025
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
The assembly of repressive heterochromatin in eukaryotic genomes is crucial for silencing lineage-inappropriate genes and repetitive DNA elements. Paradoxically, transcription of repetitive elements within constitutive heterochromatin domains is required for RNA-based mechanisms, such as the RNAi pathway, to target heterochromatin assembly proteins. However, the mechanism by which heterochromatic repeats are transcribed has been unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Bot
December 2024
Institute of Phytopathology, Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Bidirectional communication between pathogenic microbes and their plant hosts via small (s)RNA-mediated cross-kingdom RNA interference (ckRNAi) is a key element for successful host colonisation. Whether mutualistic fungi of the Serendipitaceae family, known for their extremely broad host range, use sRNAs to colonize plant roots is still under debate. To address this question, we developed a pipeline to validate the accumulation, translocation, and activity of fungal sRNAs in post-transcriptional silencing of Arabidopsis thaliana genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFbioRxiv
December 2024
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 955 Main Street, Buffalo NY 14203.
Secretory cargos are exported from the ER via COPII coated vesicles that have an inner matrix of Sec23/Sec24 heterotetramers and an outer cage of Sec13/Sec31 heterotetramers. In addition to COPII, Sec13 is part of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and the regulatory SEA/GATOR complex in eukaryotes, which typically have one Sec13 orthologue. The kinetoplastid parasite has two paralogues: TbSec13.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Genomics
November 2024
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics, Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Rhodes University, Makhanda, 6140, South Africa.
Background: The use of microsporidia as a disease-transmission-blocking tool has garnered significant attention. Microsporidia sp. MB, known for its ability to block malaria development in mosquitoes, is an optimal candidate for supplementing malaria vector control methods.
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