Star Polycation Mediated dsRNA Improves the Efficiency of RNA Interference in .

RNA interference (RNAi) is one of the most widely used techniques to study gene functions. There is still a lack of RNAi techniques that can be applied in Phytoseiidae conveniently and efficiently. Star Polycation is a new nanomaterial commonly used as a carrier of dsRNA in RNAi. Five genes of (, , , , and ) were selected to verify whether SPc promotes the delivery of dsRNA into through soaking. When each of the five genes were interfered using SPc-mediated dsRNA, the total number of success offspring produced per female in six days decreased by ca. 92%, 92%, 91%, 96%, and 64%. When , , , or was interfered, both the fecundity and egg hatching rate decreased. In contrast, when was interfered, reduction in the reproductive capability was mainly the result of the decreased egg hatching rate. Correspondingly, when the target gene was interfered, expression of reduced by 63.95%, while that of the other four genes reduced by at least 80%. Our studies showed that nanomaterials, such as SPc, have the potential to be used in RNA interference of phytoseiid mites.