RNAi to control Tuta absoluta in tomato

• Grant number: 11/12869-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2011
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Vargas de Oliveira Figueira
• Grantee: Antonio Vargas de Oliveira Figueira
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Henrique Marques Barbosa de Souza ; Joni Esrom Lima

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) has a great economic and social importance in the domestic and international market wherein, Brazil is the eighth largest producer. Tomato is one of the most susceptible crop to a range of diseases and pests compared. Among the pests, the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) represents one of the most damaging which can cause 80-100% of yield losses. Due to the extreme importance of tomato crop in the world, recent efforts have been made to develop an efficient and sustainable pest management. In general, current approaches used for the control of T. absoluta have a variable efficiency and a strong environmental impact because is based on insecticide applications. Great efforts have been made to develop new approaches and methods to control T. abolsuta. Gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi)-based approach is a promising technique to control insect pests. Transgenic plants expressing RNAi targeting specific insect genes, can result in silencing of an essential protein for insect development, which turns to phenotypes that can range from loss of appetite, infertility or even insect death. To establish this technique to control the tomato leaf miner T. absoluta, the present project aims to generate transgenic tomato plants expressing RNAi molecules that are able to silence genes which are essential to the insect development. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BENTO, FLAVIA M. M.; MARQUES, RODRIGO N.; CAMPANA, FELIPPE B.; DEMETRIO, CLARICE G. B.; LEANDRO, ROSELI A.; PARRA, JOSE ROBERTO P.; FIGUEIRA, ANTONIO. Gene silencing by RNAi via oral delivery of dsRNA by bacteria in the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta. Pest Management Science, v. 76, n. 1, p. 287-295, JAN 2020. (11/12869-6)

CAMARGO, ROBERTO A.; BARBOSA, GUILHERME O.; POSSIGNOLO, ISABELLA PRESOTTO; PERES, LAZARO E. P.; LAM, ERIC; LIMA, JONI E.; FIGUEIRA, ANTONIO; MARQUES-SOUZA, HENRIQUE. RNA interference as a gene silencing tool to control Tuta absoluta in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). PeerJ, v. 4, DEC 15 2016. (10/11313-1, 11/12869-6)

CAMARGO, ROBERTO DE A.; HERAI, ROBERTO H.; SANTOS, LUANA N.; BENTO, FLAVIA M. M.; LIMA, JONI E.; MARQUES-SOUZA, HENRIQUE; FIGUEIRA, ANTONIO. De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis to identify potential gene targets for RNAi-mediated control of the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta). BMC Genomics, v. 16, AUG 26 2015. (10/11313-1, 11/12869-6)