Abstract
The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, is considered worldwide as one of the most important tomato pests. Insecticide resistance reported on the moth and the awareness about the negative impact of agrochemicals on the environment and human health have raised the demand for new control tools. Among these, RNA interference (RNAi) can represent a valid tool to be included into new control strategies against this pest. Here we report the results of trials aimed at evaluating the effects of dsRNAs targeting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), nicotinic acetylcholine alpha 6 (nAChRs), ryanodine (RyRs) receptors by injection and root delivery. In the injection procedure, 2 and 5 µg of dsRNA were able to reduce the gene expression in a range of 62.7–75.4%, inducing a maximum mortality rate of 92.59%. The dsRNAs administered at 5 µg by root absorption revealed the potential of this delivery system to affect the gene expression (47–69% reduction) and the mortality (ranging from 67.1 to 80.5%) of treated specimens. The delivered dsRNAs (both injected and root administered) affected the weight of both T. absoluta pre-pupae and pupae. The selected AChE, nAChRs and RyRs genes can be suitable targets for T. absoluta control by means of in planta delivery dsRNAs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott W (1925) A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. J Econ Entomol 18(2):265–267
Andrade EC, Hunter WB (2016) RNA interference–natural gene-based technology for highly specific pest control (HiSPeC) RNA interference. InTech, pp 391–409. https://doi.org/10.5772/61612
Bettencourt R, Terenius O, Faye I (2002) Hemolin gene silencing by ds-RNA injected into Cecropia pupae is lethal to next generation embryos. Insect Mol Biol 11(3):267–271. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2583.2002.00334.x
Bingsohn L, Knorr E, Billion A, Narva K, Vilcinskas A (2017) Knockdown of genes in the Toll pathway reveals new lethal RNA interference targets for insect pest control. Insect Mol Biol 26(1):92–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12273
Biondi A, Desneux N, Siscaro G, Zappalà L (2012) Using organic-certified rather than synthetic pesticides may not be safer for biological control agents: selectivity and side effects of 14 pesticides on the predator Orius laevigatus. Chemosphere 87:803–812
Biondi A, Zappalà L, Stark JD, Desneux N (2013) Do biopesticides affect the demographic traits of a parasitoid wasp and its biocontrol services through sublethal effects? PLoS ONE 8(9):e76548
Biondi A, Guedes RNC, Wan FH, Desneux N (2018) Ecology, worldwide spread and management of the invasive South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta: past, present, and future. Annu Rev Entomol 63:239–258
Bolognesi R, Ramaseshadri P, Anderson J et al (2012) Characterizing the Mechanism of action of double-stranded RNA activity against western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte). PLoS ONE 7:e47534. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047534
Camargo RA, Barbosa GO, Possignolo IP, Peres LEP, Lam E, Lima JE, Figueira A, Marques-Souza H (2016) RNA interference as a gene silencing tool to control Tuta absoluta in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). PeerJ 4:e2673. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2673
Campolo O, Cherif A, Ricupero M, Siscaro G, Grissa-Lebdi K, Russo A, Cucci LM, Di Pietro P, Satriano C, Desneux N (2017) Citrus peel essential oil nanoformulations to control the tomato borer, Tuta absoluta: chemical properties and biological activity. Sci Rep 7(1):13036–13046. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13413-0
Campos MR, Biondi A, Adiga A, Guedes RNC, Desneux N (2017) From the Western Palaearctic region to beyond: Tuta absoluta ten years after invading Europe. J Pest Sci 90:787–796
Cherif A, Attia-Barhoumi S, Mansour R, Zappalà L, Grissa-Lebdi K (2018) Elucidating key biological parameters of Tuta absoluta on different host plants and under various temperature and relative humidity conditions. Entomol Gen. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2018/0685
Christou P, Capell T, Kohli A, Gatehouse JA, Gatehouse AMR (2006) Recent developments and future prospects in insect pest control in transgenic crops. Trends Plant Sci 11(6):302–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2006.04.001
Cimino AM, Boyles AL, Thayer KA, Perry MJ (2017) Effects of neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on human health: a systematic review. Environ Health Perspect 125:155–162. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP515
Cocco A, Deliperi S, Delrio G (2013) Control of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in greenhouse tomato crops using the mating disruption technique. J Appl Entomol 137:16–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.2012.01735.x
Camargo RA, Herai RH, Santos LN et al (2015) De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis to identify potential gene targets for RNAi-mediated control of the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta). BMC Genom 16:635. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-1841-5
Desneux N, Decourtye A, Delpuech J-M (2007) The sublethal effects of pesticides on beneficial arthropods. Annu Rev Entomol 52:81–106. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091440
Desneux N, Wajnberg E, Wyckhuys KAG, Burgio G, Arpaia S, Narváez-Vasquez CA, González-Cabrera J, CatalánRuescas D, Tabone E, Frandon J, Pizzol J, Poncet C, Cabello T, Urbaneja A (2010) Biological invasion of European tomato crops by Tuta absoluta: ecology, geographic expansion and prospects for biological control. J Pest Sci 83(3):197–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-010-0321-6
Desneux N, Luna MG, Guillemaud T, Urbaneja A (2011) The invasive South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, continues to spread in Afro-Eurasia and beyond: the new threat to tomato world production. J Pest Sci 84:403–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-011-0398-6
Geiger F, Bengtsson J, Berendse F et al (2010) Persistent negative effects of pesticides on biodiversity and biological control potential on European farmland. Basic Appl Ecol 11:97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BAAE.2009.12.001
Guedes RNC, Smagghe G, Stark JD, Desneux N (2016) Pesticide-induced stress in arthropod pests for optimized integrated pest management programs. Annu Rev Entomol 61(1):43–62. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-010715-023646
Haddi K, Berger M, Bielza P et al (2012) Identification of mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance in the voltage-gated sodium channel of the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta). Insect Biochem Mol Biol 42:506–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.03.008
Haddi K, Berger M, Bielza P et al (2017) Mutation in the ace-1 gene of the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) associated with organophosphates resistance. J Appl Entomol 141:612–619. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12386
Han P, Zhang YN, Lu ZZ, Wang S, Ma DY, Biondi A, Desneux N (2018) Are we ready for the invasion of Tuta absoluta? Unanswered key questions for elaborating an Integrated Pest Management package in Xinjiang, China. Entomol Gen 38:113–125. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2018/0739
Han P, Bayram Y, Shaltiel-Harpaz L, Sohrabi F et al (2019) Tuta absoluta continues to disperse in Asia: damage, ongoing management and future challenges. J Pest Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-1062-1
Hong CS, Cho MC, Kwak YG, Song CH, Lee YH, Lim JS, Kwon YK, Chae SW, Kim DH (2002) Cardiac remodeling and atrial fibrillation in transgenic mice overexpressing junction. FASEB J 16:1310–1312. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.01-0908fje
Hunter W, Ellis J, Vanengelsdorp D, Hayes J, Westervelt D, Glick E, Williams M, Sela I, Maori E, Pettis J et al (2010) Large-scale fields application of RNAi technology reducing Israeli acute paralysis virus disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera, Hymenoptera: Apidae). PLoS Pathog 6:e1001160
Hunter WB, Glick E, Paldi N, Bextine BR (2012) Advances in RNA interference: dsRNA treatment in trees and grapevines for insect pest population suppression. Southwest Entomol 37:85–87
Huvenne H, Smagghe G (2010) Mechanisms of dsRNA uptake in insects and potential of RNAi for pest control: a review. J Insect Physiol 56:227–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2009.10.004
Joga MR, Zotti MJ, Smagghe G, Christiaens O (2016) RNAi efficiency, systemic properties, and novel delivery methods for pest insect control: what we know so far. Front Physiol 7:553. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00553
Jones AK, Brown LA, Sattelle DB (2007) Insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene families: from genetic model organism to vector, pest and beneficial species. Invertebr Neurosci 7:67–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10158-006-0039-6
Kim YH, Lee SH (2013) Which acetylcholinesterase functions as the main catalytic enzyme in the Class Insecta? Insect Biochem Mol Biol 43(1):47–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.11.004
Kim YH, Issa MS, Cooper AM, Zhu KY (2015) RNA interference: applications and advances in insect toxicology and insect pest management. Pestic Biochem Physiol 120:109–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2015.01.002
Kumar M, Gupta GP, Rajam MV (2009) Silencing of acetylcholinesterase gene of Helicoverpa armigera by siRNA affects larval growth and its life cycle. J Insect Physiol 55:273–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2008.12.005
Lanner J, Dimitra T, Georgiou K, Joshi AD, Hamilton SL (2010) Ryanodine receptors: structure, expression, molecular details, and function in calcium release. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2(11):a003996. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a003996
Laudani F, Strano CP, Edwards MG, Malacrinò A, Campolo O, El Halim HMA, Gatehouse AM, Palmeri V (2017) RNAi-mediated gene silencing in Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliver) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Open Life Sci 12:214–222. https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2017-0025
Li H, Guan R, Guo H, Miao X (2015) New insights into an RNAi approach for plant defence against piercing-sucking and stem-borer insect pests. Plant, Cell Environ 38:2277–2285. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12546
Lietti MM, Botto E, Alzogaray RA (2005) Insecticide resistance in argentine populations of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Neotrop Entomol 34(1):113–119. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1519-566X2005000100016
Livak KJ, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2-ΔΔCT method. Methods 25:402–408. https://doi.org/10.1006/meth.2001.1262
Lu Y, Park Y, Gao X et al (2012) Cholinergic and non-cholinergic functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes revealed by gene-silencing in Tribolium castaneum. Sci Rep 2:288. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00288
Mamta B, Rajam M (2017) RNAi technology: a new platform for crop pest control. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 23:487–501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-017-0443-x
Mansour R, Brévault T, Chailleux A, Cherif A, Grissa-Lebdi K, Haddi Kh, Mohamed SA, Nofemela RS, Oke A, Sylla S, Tonnang HEZ, Zappalà L, Kenis M, Desneux N, Biondi A (2018) Occurrence, biology, natural enemies and management of Tuta absoluta in Africa. Entomol Gen 38:83–112. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2018/0749
Passos LC, Soares MA, Collares LJ, Malagoli I et al (2018) Lethal, sublethal and transgenerational effects of insecticides on Macrolophus basicornis, predator of Tuta absoluta. Entomol Gen 38:127–143. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2018/0744
Pimentel D, Zuniga R, Morrison D (2005) Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecol Econ 52:273–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.10.002
Price DR, Gatehouse JA (2008) RNAi-mediated crop protection against insects. Trends Biotechnol 26:393–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2008.04.004
Quan GX, Kanda T, Tamura T (2002) Induction of the white egg 3 mutant phenotype by injection of the double-stranded RNA of the silkworm white gene. Insect Mol Biol 11:217–222
Rajagopal R, Sivakumar S, Agrawal N, Malhotra P, Bhatnagar RK (2002) Silencing of midgut aminopeptidase N of Spodoptera litura by double-stranded RNA establishes its role as Bacillus thuringiensis toxin receptor. J Biol Chem 277:46849–46851. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.C200523200
Revuelta L, Piulachs MD, Bellés X et al (2009) RNAi of ace1 and ace2 in Blattella germanica reveals their differential contribution to acetylcholinesterase activity and sensitivity to insecticides. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 39:913–919
Rinkevich FD, Scott JG (2013) Limitations of RNAi of α6 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits for assessing the in vivo sensitivity to spinosad. Insect Sci 20:101–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7917.2012.01523.x
Roditakis E, Vasakis E, Grispou M, Stavrakaki M, Nauen R, Gravouil M, Bassi A (2015) First report of Tuta absoluta resistance to diamide insecticides. J Pest Sci 88:9–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0643-5
Roditakis E, Steinbach D, Moritz G, Vasakis E, Stavrakaki M, Ilias A, García-Vidal L, Del Rosario Martínez-Aguirre M, Bielza P, Morou E (2017) Ryanodine receptor point mutations confer diamide insecticide resistance in tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Insect Biochem Molecul Biol 80:11–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.11.003
Saini RP, Raman V, Dhandapani G et al (2018) Silencing of HaAce1 gene by host-delivered artificial microRNA disrupts growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera. PLoS ONE 13:e0194150. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194150
Sankarganesh E, Firake D, Sharma B, Verma V, Behere G (2017) Invasion of the south american tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, in northeastern India: a new challenge and biosecurity concerns. Entomol Gen 36(4):335–345. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2017/0489
Scott JG, Michel K, Bartholomay LC, Siegfried BD, Hunter WB, Smagghe G, Zhu KY, Douglas AE (2013) Towards the elements of successful insect RNAi. J Insect Physiol 59:1212–1221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2013.08.014
Siqueira HÁA, Guedes RNC, Picanço MC (2000) Insecticide resistance in populations of Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Agric For Entomol 2:147–153. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-9563.2000.00062.x
Sohrabi F, Nooryazdan H, Gharati B, Saeidi Z (2016) Evaluation of ten tomato cultivars for resistance against tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) under field infestation conditions. Entomol Gen 36(2):163–175. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2016/0350
Sun LN, Zhang HJ, Quan LF, Yan WT, Yue Q, Li YY, Qiu GS (2016) Characterization of the ryanodine receptor gene with a unique 3’-UTR and alternative splice site from the oriental fruit moth. J Insect Sci. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iev148
Sylla S, Brévault T, Bal AB, Chailleux A, Diatte M, Desneux N, Diarra K (2017) Rapid spread of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), an invasive pest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Entomol Gen 36:269–283. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2017/0453
Terenius O, Papanicolaou A, Garbutt JS, Eleftherianos I, Huvenne H, Kanginakudru S, Albrechtsen M, An C, Aymeric JL, Barthel A (2011) RNA interference in Lepidoptera: an overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design. J Insect Physiol 57:231–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2010.11.006
Tomoyasu Y, Denell RE (2004) Larval RNAi in Tribolium (Coleoptera) for analyzing adult development. Dev Genes Evol 214(11):575–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-004-0434-0
Tropea Garzia G, Siscaro G, Biondi A, Zappalà L (2012) Tuta absoluta, a South American pest of tomato now in the EPPO region: biology, distribution and damage. EPPO Bulletin 42:205–210. https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.2556
Vélez AM, Fishilevich E (2018) The mysteries of insect RNAi: A focus on dsRNA uptake and transport. Pestic Biochem Physiol 151:25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PESTBP.2018.08.005
Wan PJ, Guo WY, Yang Y, et al (2014) RNAi suppression of the ryanodine receptor gene results in decreased susceptibility to chlorantraniliprole in Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata. J Insect Physiol 63:48–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2014.02.009
Weston DP, Schlenk D, Riar N et al (2015) Effects of pyrethroid insecticides in urban runoff on Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and their invertebrate prey. Environ Toxicol Chem 34:649–657. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2850
Whalon ME, Mota-Sanchez D, Hollingworth RM (2008) Global pesticide resistance in arthropods. Cabi, Oxfordshire
Xian X, Han P, Wang S, Zhang G, Liu W, Desneux N, Wan F (2017) The potential invasion risk and preventive measures against the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta in China. Entomol Gen 36:319–333. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2017/0504
Yang Y, Wan P-J, Hu X-X, Li G-Q (2014) RNAi mediated knockdown of the ryanodine receptor gene decreases chlorantraniliprole susceptibility in Sogatella furcifera. Pestic Biochem Physiol 108:58–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PESTBP.2013.12.004
Ye X, Yang L, Stanley D, Li F, Fang Q (2017) Two Bombyx mori acetylcholinesterase genes influence motor control and development in different ways. Sci Rep. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05360-7
Zappalà L, Biondi A, Alma A, Al-Jboory IJ, Arnò J, Bayram A, Chailleux A, El-Arnaouty A, Gerling D, Guenaoui Y, Shaltiel-Harpaz L, Siscaro G, Stavrinides M, Tavella L, Vercher Aznar R, Urbaneja A, Desneux N (2013) Natural enemies of the South American moth, Tuta absoluta, in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, and their potential use in pest control strategies. J Pest Sci 86(4):635–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-013-0531-9
Zibaee I, Mahmood K, Esmaeily M, Bandani AR, Kristensen M (2018) Organophosphate and pyrethroid resistances in the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) from Iran. J Appl Entomol 142:181–191. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12425
Zotti M, Smagghe G (2015) RNAi technology for insect management and protection of beneficial insects from diseases: lessons, challenges and risk assessments. Neotrop Entomol 44:197–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0291-8
Acknowledgements
This research was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) (PRIN project 2015 “BIOPIC,” 2015BABFCF); and through the ERA-NET action ARIMNET2 2015 call (project “Sustainable Tomato Production” - STomP). The University of Tabriz, Iran, is gratefully acknowledged for its financial support to Sima Majidiani. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Giulia Giunti and Davide Palermo for kind support during the research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Communicated by A. Biondi and N. Desneux.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Special Issue on Advances in the Management of Tuta absoluta.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Majidiani, S., PourAbad, R.F., Laudani, F. et al. RNAi in Tuta absoluta management: effects of injection and root delivery of dsRNAs. J Pest Sci 92, 1409–1419 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01097-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01097-6