Stabilized Double-Stranded RNA Strategy Improves Cotton Resistance to CBW (Anthonomus grandis).

ABSTRACT: Cotton is the most important crop for fiber production worldwide. However, the cotton boll weevil (CBW) is an insect pest that causes significant economic losses in infested areas. Current control methods are costly, inefficient, and environmentally hazardous. Herein, we generated transgenic cotton lines expressing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules to trigger RNA interference-mediated gene silencing in CBW. Thus, we targeted three essential genes coding for chitin synthase 2, vitellogenin, and ecdysis-triggering hormone receptor. The stability of expressed dsRNAs was improved by designing a structured RNA based on a viroid genome architecture. We transformed cotton embryos by inserting a promoter-driven expression cassette that overexpressed the dsRNA into flower buds. The transgenic c

SUBMITTER: Ribeiro TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9691246 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature