The Institute Of Microbiology, Chinese Academy Of Sciences Obtained New Cotton Germplasm Resistant To Aphids

Recently, Guo Huishan, a researcher from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xie Zongming, a researcher from the Cotton Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Reclamation Sciences, published a report on Plant Biotechnology Journal) Research papers on aphids. In this study, a new cotton germplasm resistant to aphids was obtained by expressing dsRNA specifically targeting the AgDPPS1 gene of Aphis gossypii in cotton.

Aphid is a kind of piercing sucking insect of Hemiptera, which causes diseases by directly feeding on crops and transmitting plant viruses, and is regarded as agricultural pests. The team previously reported the plant fungus cross-border RNAi in nature, and used host induced gene silencing technology to create a breeding system of RNAi cotton resistant to verticillium wilt. Further, the team designed dsRNA for AgDPPS1, a key gene for the growth of cotton aphid, and obtained two new RNAi cotton germplasms, AgDPPSi-1 and AgDPPSi-2, which stably express dsRNA and synthesize sRNA.

The laboratory feeding experiment showed that the AgDPPS1 gene expression of aphids feeding on RNAi cotton leaves was inhibited compared with the receptor pair; With the prolongation of feeding time, the survival rate of aphids feeding on RNAi cotton leaves decreased significantly. The statistical results of the pilot test in the experimental base of Biotechnology Research Institute of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Reclamation Sciences showed that the number of aphids colonizing RNAi cotton leaves was significantly lower than that of the receptor control. Scientific researchers collect aphids in the field for Northern Blot detection. The results showed that the AgDPPS1 gene mRNA of aphids colonizing RNAi cotton was degraded, which confirmed that RNAi cotton obtained resistance to aphids by inhibiting the expression of AgDPPS1 gene of aphids.

The research work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.