Entomology, Department of

 

ORCID IDs

0000-0002-2812-3753

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

Pest Manag Sci 2018; 74: 1751–1758

Comments

© 2018 The Authors.

Open access

DOI: 10.1002/ps.4870

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) was discovered almost 20 years ago and has been exploited worldwide to silence genes in plants and animals. A decade later, it was found that transforming plants with an RNAi construct targeting an insect gene could protect the plant against feeding by that insect. Production of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in a plant to affect the viability of a herbivorous animal is termed trans-kingdom RNAi (TK-RNAi). Since this pioneering work, there have been many further examples of successful TK-RNAi, but also reports of failed attempts and unrepeatable experiments. Recently, three laboratories have shown that producing dsRNA in a plant’s chloroplast, rather than in its cellular cytoplasm, is a very effective way of delivering TK-RNAi. Our review examines this potentially game-changing approach and compares it with other transgenic insect-proofing schemes.

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