RNA interference in Agriculture: Basic Science to Applications

Guy Smagghe is a professor at the Ghent University in Belgium. His major research interests are in the areas of insect physiology, biochemistry and (eco)toxicology with a focus on more fundamental topics and also applications impacting on the field of insect pest control. Dr. Smagghe has been the author or coauthor of about 480 research publications and books. His research has been continually supported by grants from the Ghent University, IWT and FWO, and he continues to serve in different national and international committees related to his research interests. He was awarded for his professional work by the prestigious First Prize of the Belgian Royal Academia of Arts, Sciences and Linguistics, and he is an elected fellow of the Society of In Vitro Biology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).   Dr. Subba Reddy Palli received his doctorate from the University of Western Ontario and post-doctoral training at the University of Washington. He worked as a research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service’s Great Lakes Forestry Centre and later at Rohm and Hass Company. as the senior research scientist and played a key role in development of Ecdysone Receptor based Gene Switch technology. Dr. Palli joined the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology as an assistant professor in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor and professor in 2005 and 2008, respectively. He became Chairman of the Department of Entomology in 2015. He also serves as the co-director of NSF I/UCRC on Arthropod Management Technologies and Kentucky State Entomologist.  He has received several prestigious awards including a University Research Professorship, the Thomas Poe Cooper Research Award, Bobby Pass Excellence in Grantsmanship Award, High Impact Research/Extension Award and Wethington Award. Dr. Palli is also the recipient of Entomological Society of America (ESA) Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Nan Yao Soo Award for Innovation and Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award. He was selected as a fellow of ESA and AAAS.  Dr. Palli’s research focuses on hormonal regulation of gene expression in insects with a goal to identify proteins that play key roles in signal transduction of ecdysteroids, juvenile hormones and other hormones and use them for developing novel environmentally safe pest management methods. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and co-edited two books.  He holds 25 patents. Recent research from Dr. Palli’s laboratory helped to develop RNA interference technology-based methods for controlling insect pests as well as to fight insecticide resistance in beetles.Luc Swevers is research director (Insect Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology research group) at the Institute of Bosciences & Applications, National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos", Athens, Greece. His work involved the characterization of the RNAi machinery in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and lepidopteran cell lines, especially with respect to its role in antiviral defense. More recent research relates to the application of virus-like particles as delivery vehicles of dsRNA and the role of piRNAs during baculovirus (B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus) infection.

• The road to RNAi-based pest control: A historical perspective.- RNA interference: View on its current status since the 2006 Nobel Prize and impact on the agriculture looking to the future.- Safety of oligonucleotide-based active ingredients used as crop protection agents.- RNA insecticides and biodiversity conservation.- Steps toward efficient nanocarrier-mediated gene delivery for RNA interference in insects: stabilization, endocytosis and endosomal escape of genes for intracellular spreading.- Symbiont-mediated RNAi: mechanisms, current status and prospects.- Message in a vesicle: the role of extracellular vesicle cargo in parasite-host interkingdom communication and spread of systemic RNAi in insects.- Plastid-mediated RNA interference for pest control.- Sustainable crop protection via reversible acylation of 2’OH groups in dsRNA.- RNAi in the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum): current status and future perspectives.- RNAi in the migratory locust: functional studies of the genes in the formation and development of cuticle.- RNAi in Chelicerata, spider and mites: meta-analysis and current status of two model organisms and protocols.- The migratory locust as a model for studying the mechanisms of RNAi.- si/dsRNAs and miRNAs, mechanisms and interactions.- Insect cell lines and RNAi.- Resistance to RNAi: mechanisms, current status and prospects.- Invention of RNAi biopesticides to psyllid vectors and bacterial pathogens of citrus: Future technologies for gene targeting.- RNAi technique and the management of stinkbugs in the Neotropical region of Brazil: From the lens of efficiency and environmental sustainability in integrated pest management (IPM). RNAi technology against forest pests: Opportunities, challenges and future prospects.- RNAi in Lepidoptera: current status, impact of enzymatic degradation, and future perspectives.- Comparing RNAi and CRISPR in the fall armyworm: a meta-analysis, mechanisms and perspectives.- RNAi biopesticides for root-feeding insects.- Australian sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina management: Established methods and RNA interference-based biocontrol.- Regulation of RNAi in pesticidal products in the United States.- Regulatory landscape surrounding approval and authorisation of dsRNA-based plant protection products in Europe.- How to talk about RNA so that people understand it and are comfortable with an unfamiliar technology.- CalanthaTM: the first commercialized sprayable dsRNA product for insect control.