title: Silencing the ecdysone synthesis and signaling pathway genes disrupts nymphal development in the whitefly.
abstract: Sap-sucking insects are important pests in agriculture and good models to study insect biology. The role of ecdysone pathway genes in the life history of this group of insects is largely unknown likely due to a lack of efficient gene silencing methods allowing functional genetic analyses. Here, we developed a new and high throughput method to silence whitefly genes using a leaf-mediated dsRNA feeding method. We have applied this method to explore the roles of genes within the molting hormone-ecdysone synthesis and signaling pathway for the survival, reproduction and development of whiteflies. Silencing of genes in the ecdysone pathway had a limited effect on the survival and fecundity of adult whiteflies. However, gene silencing reduced survival and delayed development of the whitefly during nymphal stages. These data suggest that the silencing method developed here provides a useful tool for functional gene discovery studies of sap-sucking insects, and further indicate the potential of regulating the ecdysone pathway in whitefly control.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. jbluan@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jun-Bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.forename: Murad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghanim
authors.forename: Shu-Sheng
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Czosnek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004440:Ecdysone / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020868:Gene Silencing; D017344:Genes, Insect; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000502:physiology*; D009758:Nymph / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D004440:Ecdysone
keywords: Bemisia tabaci; Development; Ecdysone synthesis and signaling pathway; Gene silencing