miR-125-3p and miR-276b-3p Regulate the Spermatogenesis of by Targeting the .

is considered a major threat to horticultural crops. It has evolved resistance against insecticides. It is believed that development of new methods is highly desirable to control this destructive agricultural pest. Sterile insect technique is emerging as a potential tool to control this insect pest by reducing their reproductive ability. Here we report that has high expression in the testis of which is the target of miR-125-3p and miR-276b-3p and plays a critical role in the spermatogenesis. Dual luciferase reporter assay using HEKT293 cells demonstrates that gene is downregulated by miR-125-3p and miR-276b-3p and is a common target of these miRNAs. Dietary treatment of adult male flies separately and in combination of agomir-125-3p (Ago-125-3p) and agomir-276b-3p (Ago-276b-3p) significantly downregulated the mRNA of . The combined treatments of agomirs suppressed the level of mRNA of significantly more than any single treatment. Altered expression of miR-125-3p and miR-276b-3p significantly decreased the total and live spermatozoa in the testis which ultimately caused reduction in male fertility. Furthermore, we demonstrate that miR-125-3p, miR-276b-3p, and dsRNA are the novel agents that could be used in a genetic-based sterile insect technique (SIT) to control the .