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Volume 6, Issue 8 (Suppl) J Biotechnol Biomater
ISSN: 2155-952X JBTBM, an open access journal Bio America 2016
November 28-30, 2016
November 28-30, 2016 San Francisco, USA
13th Biotechnology Congress
RayssaAlmeida Garcia et al., J Biotechnol Biomater 2016, 6:8(Suppl)
Strategy to overcome nucleic acid degrading enzymes in insect pests for the RNAi application
Rayssa Almeida Garcia, Gillet F X, Macedo L L P and Grossi-de-Sa M F
1University of Brasilia, Brazil
2Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brazil
3Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil
Gene silencing through RNA interference as a biotechnological approach for the control of crop insect-pests have been intensively
applied in the last few years. dsRNA microinjection and in vitro feeding are the most wildly used approaches for administering
RNAi in insects. However, RNAi efficiency appears to be variable among different insect groups, especially when applied by feeding,
for some insect groups the oral delivery of the dsRNAs has been reported highly ineffective. In initial studies, our gene silencing data
for cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) were unclear when dsRNA administration was done by feeding. The purpose of this work
was to assess the possibilities of RNAi as a tool for the control of this insect pest using oral delivery of dsRNAs and to investigate the
reason for the low efficiency in gene silencing, aiming to develop a strategy to deal with the efficiency and usage of dsRNA by feeding.
Data showed an optimal nucleasic activity of the A. grandis gut nucleases at acid pH, ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 and the A. grandis gut
homogenate significative degraded both dsRNA and dsDNA. Three nuclease sequences were found in A. grandis transcriptome,
named AgNuc1, AgNuc2, and AgNuc3 in which AgNuc2 and AgNuc3 showed to be highly expressed in the insect gut. The silencing
of the three nuclease genes strongly diminished dsRNA degradation when dsRNA were incubated with homogenate from silenced
insects. On the other hand, when dsRNAs were protected with a Cell Penetrating Peptide (CPP) fused with a dsRNA Binding Domain
(DRBD), no dsRNA degradation was found. Furthermore, dsRNAs complexed with CPP-DRBD were found to enter into A. grandis
gut cells. The dsRNA complexed administered in the diet caused a greater gene silencing, compared to naked dsRNA. All data point
out to the relevance for overcoming the gut nucleases with/or in parallel with the RNAi applications for the control of crop insect-
pests.
Biography
Rayssa Almeida Garcia is currently pursuing PhD in Molecular Biology from the Federal University of Brasilia, Brazil. She does her research work in the Plant-
Pest Interaction Laboratory at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, Brazil under the supervision of Dr Maria Fatima Grossi-de-Sa. She has
published a large number of papers in reputed journals and is a Fellow Member of the World Academy of Science.