Original paper
Transplastomic RNAi potato plants targeting potato ladybird: No adverse effects on non-target pests or their natural enemies
Liao, Jianghua; He, Haofeng; Liu, Xia; Chang, Ling; Zhang, Jiang
Entomologia Generalis Volume 45 Number 3 (2025), p. 869 - 877
published: Aug 19, 2025
published online: Jun 2, 2025
manuscript accepted: Apr 8, 2025
manuscript revision received: Mar 27, 2025
manuscript revision requested: Mar 11, 2025
manuscript received: Dec 23, 2024
Open Access (paper may be downloaded free of charge)
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) technology has emerged promising and eco-friendly method for crop protection against pests. Our previous work has demonstrated the effectiveness of plastid-expressed double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) targeting insectβ-Actin(dsActin) andSnap(dsSnap) genes in controllingHenosepilachna vigintioctopunctata(Fabricius) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae). However, the potential impacts of these RNAi transplastomic plants on non-target organisms remains ambiguous. In this study, we investigated the effects of transplastomic plants expressing dsActinor dsSnapon two potato pests,Myzus persicae(Sulzer) (Homoptera, Aphididae) andSpodoptera litura(Fabricius) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), along with two natural enemies of potato pests,Arma chinensis(Fallou) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) andHarmonia axyridis(Pallas) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae). DespiteHvActinsharing over 85% gene homology andHvSnapsharing over 60% with these non-target organisms, our findings revealed that neither in vitro-synthesized nor plastid-expressed dsActinor dsSnapcaused any transcriptional or organismal impacts on these four non-target species. In sum, our study verifies the safety of transplastomic plants towards non-targe organisms, thus paving the way for the widespread adoption of transplastomic RNAi crops.
Keywords
RNA interference • double-stranded RNA • potato • Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata • non-target insects