Enhancement of Pathogen Toxicity by Feeding Snyder Sonicated Bacteria Expressing Double-Stranded RNA That Interferes with Olfaction.

Snyder is a serious pest in China, and the odorant receptor co-receptor gene plays a crucial role in olfaction. However, the function of in the resistance of termites to entomopathogens has not been reported. We constructed ds-HT115 engineered bacteria based on the sequence from the full-length transcriptome data of . The engineered bacteria expressed dsRNA of . Sonication was used to inactivate the dsRNA-HT115 strain and obtain a large amount of ds. The ds produced using this method overcame the problem that genetically engineered bacteria could not be applied directly and improved its effectiveness against termites. Bioassays using the ds generated using this method showed that ds significantly increased the toxicity of the bacterial and fungal pathogens to . The present study showed, for the first time, the function of in termite resistance to pathogens, and the results provide a theoretical basis for the development and application of termite RNA biopesticides.