RNAi Technology for pest Management and Protection of Beneficial Insects from Disease: Challenges and Risk Assessments

RNA interference (RNAi) is a mechanism of post-transcriptional regulation of gene-expression, during which the introduced dsRNA results in target gene silencing through siRNA or miRNA pathways. Over the past few years, it has been shown that this approach has a great ability in management of insects including insect pests’ control, manipulated disease-carrying insects treatment and prevention of disease in beneficial insects. At least two pathways for dsRNA uptake in insects are described and among the various methods of dsRNA delivery, oral delivery of dsRNA is the best method for practical control of pests in the farm. Due to the success of RNAi method in pest control, it is expected that the method has a high potential for future pest management strategies, however due to the lack of genomic data for most exposed non-target organisms, it becomes difficult to understand the environmental risks caused by RNAi-based technologies and the benefits provided for the protection of crops. Further studies and better understanding the mechanisms of RNAi in insects would accelerate the world wide release of commercial RNAi-based methods.