Silencing the gustatory receptor BtGR11 affects the sensing of sucrose in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci

Fengqi Li; Zhongjuan Di; Zhongjuan Di; Jiahui Tian; Jiahui Tian; Youssef Dewer; Cheng Qu; Shiyong Yang; Chen Luo

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.1054943

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (Nov 2022)

Silencing the gustatory receptor BtGR11 affects the sensing of sucrose in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci

Fengqi Li,
Zhongjuan Di,
Zhongjuan Di,
Jiahui Tian,
Jiahui Tian,
Youssef Dewer,
Cheng Qu,
Shiyong Yang,
Chen Luo

Affiliations

Fengqi Li: Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhongjuan Di: Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhongjuan Di: Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
Jiahui Tian: Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Jiahui Tian: School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
Youssef Dewer: Phytotoxicity Research Department, Central Agricultural Pesticide Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt
Cheng Qu: Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Shiyong Yang: School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
Chen Luo: Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.1054943
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10

Abstract

Read online

RNA interference (RNAi) is powerful biotechnology for studying the in vivo functions of key genes. Based on this property, RNAi can also be used for pest control as an effective alternative to chemical pesticides. The management of phloem-sucking pests is a tricky issue in current agricultural and forestry pest control. RNAi can silence key chemoreceptor genes of phloem-sucking pests; thereby regulating the behavior of these pests can be manipulated. So, it is considered to be a promising new type of ecological pest management strategy. In this study, we identified a candidate taste receptor gene, BtGR11, that controls the taste sensitivity to sucrose in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, which is a serious invasive phloem-sucking pest worldwide. Functional analyses using the Xenopus oocyte expression system and the two-electrode voltage-clamp system revealed that the oocytes expressing BtGR11 responded to sucrose. Furthermore, we found that silencing BtGR11 by RNAi inhibited the function of sensing sucrose in the whitefly. This study reports a key chemoreceptor gene that can be used for the understanding of the gustatory sensing mechanisms of whitefly to deterrent.

Published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

ISSN: 2296-4185 (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Biotechnology
Website: http://www.frontiersin.org/bioengineering_and_biotechnology

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords