Enhancing the Virulence of a Fungal Entomopathogen Against the Brown Planthopper by Expressing dsRNA to Suppress Host Immune Defenses.

ABSTRACT: The use of fungal entomopathogens, such as Metarhizium anisopliae, is a promising alternative for pest biocontrol but suffers the disadvantage of a relatively slower killing speed when compared with chemical pesticides. Nilaparvata lugens (brown planthopper, BPH) is a destructive sap-sucking pest that seriously threatens rice production worldwide. In the present study, we characterized a key immune-regulating protein, Spätzle (SPZ), encoding gene NlSPZ5 in BPH, and constructed a transgenic strain of M. anisopliae that expressed a specific dsRNA targeting the NlSPZ5 gene for enhancing the fungal virulence. Expression pattern analysis revealed that NlSPZ5 was expressed with the highest levels in the second-instar nymphs and hemolymph and could be lar

SUBMITTER: Lan C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12654220 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature