RNAi in Insect Physiology

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Molecular Biology and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 1123

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: insect physiology; molecular biology; RNA interference; innate immunity; Bombyx mori; Tribolium castaneum; pest management

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Insect Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Group, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Institute of Biosciences and Applications, 15341 Athens, Greece
Interests: insect antiviral immunity; insect virology and immunology; RNA interference
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the discovery of the role of dsRNA to trigger gene silencing in nematodes in 1998, RNA interference (RNAi) has evolved into a potent tool for gene functional studies in fundamental research. In this process, long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules are processed into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that carry out specific gene silencing via hybridization to complementary target viral and cellular RNAs. In addition to siRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) act as participants in distinct RNAi pathways. All three small RNA pathways collectively contribute to gene silencing effects in eukaryotic cells. Importantly, due to the specific gene silencing mechanism, RNAi has recently been adopted as a novel pest control approach.

This Special Issue invites contributions on various facets of RNAi research in insects, with a particular focus on gene functional studies and pest control applications. Both original research articles and literature reviews are welcome to showcase advancements in RNAi research in the field of entomology.

Dr. Jisheng Liu
Dr. Luc Swevers
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insects
  • RNAi
  • dsRNA
  • small RNAs
  • siRNAs
  • miRNAs
  • piRNAs
  • gene functional studies
  • biopesticide
  • pest control

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 2253 KiB  
Article
Risk Assessment of RNAi-Based Potential Pesticide dsNlAtg3 and Its Homologues for Nilaparvata lugens and Non-Target Organisms
by Kai Li, Tongtong Chen, Yuliang Li, Kai Sun, Kun Pang, Xiaoping Yu and Peiying Hao
Insects 2025, 16(2), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16020225 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 612
Abstract
The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) is an insect pest of rice, which mainly feeds on the phloem sap of the leaf sheath. RNA interference (RNAi) has application prospects in pest control, but it is necessary to select target genes and design [...] Read more.
The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) is an insect pest of rice, which mainly feeds on the phloem sap of the leaf sheath. RNA interference (RNAi) has application prospects in pest control, but it is necessary to select target genes and design suitable dsRNA fragments for RNAi so that it can achieve effective pest control and avoid risks to non-target organisms. NlAtg3 is a key protein in the autophagy pathway of N. lugens. Three kinds of dsRNA fragments of the NlAtg3 gene (dsNlAtg3-474×1, dsNlAtg3-138×3 and dsNlAtg3-47×10) were designed to compare the RNAi efficiency and specificity against the target insect N. lugens and non-target organisms through microinjection. The results showed that the fragment dsNlAtg3-474×1 showed strong inhibitory effects on the survival of N. lugens, which resulted in the survival rate decreasing to zero on the fifth day, while the survival rate of a closely related species, Sogatella furcifera, dropped to 2.22%. In contrast, dsNlAtg3-47×10 specifically designed against N. lugens only showed slight or no inhibitory effects on S. furcifera and other non-target organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster, but still showed good lethal effects against N. lugens, with the survival rate dropping to 18.89% on the ninth day. In addition, after being fed N. lugens injected with dsNlAtg3-47×10 fragments, the survival rate of the natural enemies Dolomedes sulfureus and Tytthus chinensis did not show significant change, compared with those treated with the dsGFP control. Our results suggest that the NlAtg3 gene can serve as a potential target for controlling N. lugens. Moreover, by designing suitable RNAi fragments, it is possible to avoid harm to non-target organisms while effectively inhibiting the target insect N. lugens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue RNAi in Insect Physiology)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop