Abstract
The management of economically important lepidopteran pests has relied heavily on chemical and Bt-bio pesticides since 1940s, which has led to multiple recurring issues in resistance and environment. In this study, to search for a genetic-based control alternative with a distinctively different mode of action, we carried out a toxicological characterization of miR-34-5p, a highly conserved lepidopteran microRNA targeting EcR. Integrating target site prediction, co-localization of miRNA and EcR by fluorescence in situ hybridization, luciferase reporter assays as well as the gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments, we comprehensively examined the physiological function and insecticidal properties of miR-34-5p among three representative lepidopteran pests, including Helicoverpa armigera, Spodoptera exigua, and Plutella xylostella. The combined results confirm a conserved role of miR-34-5p in the regulation of EcR in multiple lepidopteran pests. Overexpression or knocking down of miR-34-5p through both injection and feeding leads to insecticidal phenotypes, including high mortality, low fecundity, and developmental defects, suggesting that miRNAs can be considered as novel molecular targets in general, miR-34-5p for lepidopteran pests in particular. These results highlight the importance of miR-34-5p in the regulation of EcR expression in lepidopteran insects and provide a solid foundation for development of miRNA-based green pest control technology.
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The EcR sequence of Lepidoptera used in this study was downloaded from NCBI. All other information is provided within the manuscript.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank professor Xuguo “Joe” Zhou (Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky) for constructive comments on the manuscript, and thank the support of the National Natural Science Foundation (31572023, 31772186, 32172440), National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (2018FY10100), and Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (Grant No. 2021TC103).
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572023, 31772186, 32172440), National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (2018FY10100) and Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (Grant No. 2021TC103).
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Li, L., Zhu, B., Sun, X. et al. miR-34-5p, a novel molecular target against lepidopteran pests. J Pest Sci 96, 209–224 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-022-01488-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-022-01488-2