State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
Department of Entomology, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 23;25(11):5680. doi: 10.3390/ijms25115680.
MicroRNAs (miRNA) play a vital role in insects' growth and development and have significant potential value in pest control. Previously, we identified miR-306 from small RNA libraries within the English grain aphid, , a devasting insect pest for wheat. miR-306 not only involves in wing morphogenesis, but also is critically important for aphid survival. Its specific impacts on the life history traits, however, remain unclear. Here, we evaluate the impact of miR-306 perturbation on . populations using a two-sex life table approach. This comprehensive analysis revealed that miR-306 perturbation significantly prolongs the developmental stages (9.64% and 8.20%) and adult longevity of . , while decreasing pre-adult survival rate (41.45% and 38.74%) and slightly reducing average fecundity (5.80% and 13.05%). Overall, miR-306 perturbation negatively affects the life table parameters of the aphid population. The population prediction models show a significant decline in the aphid population 60 days post interference, compared to the control groups (98.14% and 97.76%). Our findings highlight the detrimental effects of miR-306 perturbation on . population growth and suggest potential candidate genes for the development of RNAi-based biopesticides targeted specifically at this pest species.
微小 RNA（miRNA）在昆虫的生长发育中起着至关重要的作用，在害虫防治方面具有重要的潜在价值。此前，我们从英文麦长管蚜的小 RNA 文库中鉴定出 miR-306，麦长管蚜是一种严重危害小麦的害虫。miR-306 不仅参与了翅膀形态发生，而且对蚜虫的生存至关重要。然而，其对生活史特征的具体影响尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用两性生命表方法评估 miR-306 扰动对 的影响。这项全面的分析表明，miR-306 扰动显著延长了 的发育阶段（9.64%和 8.20%）和成虫寿命，同时降低了幼体存活率（41.45%和 38.74%），并略微降低了平均繁殖力（5.80%和 13.05%）。总体而言，miR-306 扰动对蚜虫种群的生命表参数有负面影响。种群预测模型显示，干扰后 60 天蚜虫种群数量显著下降，与对照组相比（98.14%和 97.76%）。我们的研究结果强调了 miR-306 扰动对 的种群增长的不利影响，并为开发针对这种害虫的基于 RNAi 的生物农药提供了潜在的候选基因。
