RNAi in the cereal weevil Sitophilus spp: systemic gene knockdown in the bacteriome tissue

The weevils Sitophilus spp. are among the most important cosmopolitan pests of stored cereal grains. However, their biology and physiology are poorly understood, mainly because the insect developmental stages take place within cereal grains and because of the lack of gene specific molecular manipula...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC biotechnology 2009-05, Vol.9 (44), p.44-44
Main Authors: Vallier, Agnès, Vincent-Monégat, Carole, Laurençon, Anne, Heddi, Abdelaziz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ecology, environment
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene Knockdown Techniques
Genes, Insect
Genetic aspects
Growth
Insect pests
Larva
Larva - genetics
Larval development
Life Sciences
Methodology
Physiological aspects
RNA Interference
RNA, Double-Stranded
RNA, Double-Stranded - metabolism
RNA, Messenger
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
Symbiosis
Weevils
Weevils - genetics
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Summary:The weevils Sitophilus spp. are among the most important cosmopolitan pests of stored cereal grains. However, their biology and physiology are poorly understood, mainly because the insect developmental stages take place within cereal grains and because of the lack of gene specific molecular manipulation. To gain access to the different insect developmental stages, weevil females were allowed to lay their eggs on starch pellets and hatched embryos were collected by dissolving starch with water. Embryos were transferred between two Glass Plates filled with packed Flour (GPF) to mimic compact texture of the cereal grain, and this system allowed us to recover specific developmental stages. To knockdown the gene expressed in the bacteria-bearing organ (the bacteriome), whole larvae were injected with dsRNA to target the wpgrp1 gene and they were then left to develop for a further 4 days period. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analyses on the bacteriome of these animals revealed a down-regulation of the wpgrp1 expression, both at transcript and protein levels. These results demonstrate that whole larval injection with dsRNA results in a high and systemic decrease of both mRNA and protein in the bacteriome tissue. This, along with the possibility of access to the insect developmental stages, opens up a new research avenue for exploring gene specific functions in the cereal weevils.
ISSN:1472-6750
1472-6750
DOI:10.1186/1472-6750-9-44