title: Oral delivery of dsRNA by microbes: Beyond pest control.
abstract: RNA interference (RNAi) by oral delivery of dsRNA in insects has great potential as a tool for integrated pest management (IPM), especially with respect to addressing the need to reduce off-target effect and slow down resistance development to chemical insecticides. Employing the natural association existing between insect and yeast, we developed a novel method to enable the knock down of vital genes in the pest insectDrosophila suzukiithrough oral delivery of species-specific dsRNA using genetically modifiedSaccharomyces cerevisae. D. suzukiithat were fed with our "yeast biopesticide" showed a significant decrease in fitness. In this perspective article, we postulate that this approach could be adapted to a large number of species, given the great diversity of symbiotic interactions involving microorganisms and host species. Furthermore, we speculate that beyond its application as biopesticide, dsRNA delivery by genetically modified microbes can also serve to facilitate reverse genetic applications, specifically in non-model organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California , Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abrieux
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California , Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chiu
keywords: RNA interference; gene silencing; microbes; pest management; reverse genetics; yeast