ARS | Publication request: RNA interference mediated knockdown of IAP in Lygus lineolaris induces mortality in adult and pre-adult life stages

Submitted to: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: October 27, 2010
Publication Date: January 1, 2011
Citation: Walker III, W.B., Allen, M.L. 2011. RNA interference mediated knockdown of IAP in Lygus lineolaris induces mortality in adult and pre-adult life stages. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 138:83-92.

Interpretive Summary: In recent years RNA interference (RNAi) has been validated as a viable approach for functional genetic studies in non-model organisms. Through the inner-workings of cellular processes, double stranded RNA that is precisely complementary to a specific, critical gene in an insect can theoretically disable that gene, causing the insect to die or change in some vital way. In this report we demonstrate an effective use of RNAi in the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris a pest of cotton, alfalfa, strawberry, beans and many other crops. The gene we examined is L. lineolaris Inhibitor of Apoptosis gene (LlIAP), which plays critical roles in development. We found that RNAi mediated knockdown of LlIAP expression produced a lethal phenotype (the insects died) in adults and pre-adult nymphs.

Technical Abstract: In recent years RNA interference has been validated as a viable approach for functional genetic studies in non-model organisms. In this report we demonstrate the efficacy of RNAi in the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Miridae: Hemiptera). A L. lineolaris Inhibitor of Apoptosis gene (LlIAP) has been identified and cloned. RNAi mediated knockdown of LlIAP expression has been correlated with a lethality phenotype in adults and pre-adult nymphs.