Frankliniella occidentalis is a major pest in agriculture. Following overuse of insecticides, high resistance has developed due to its high reproduction rate and short generation time. To control the resistant strains of the thrips, the ingestion RNAi- based control was established. A total of 67 genes were selected, and their double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA) were delivered to thrips via the leaf disc-feeding method. Among the genes screened, the dsRNA of Toll-like receptor 6 (TLR6) and coatomer protein subunit epsilon (COPE) resulted in the highest mortality (3.8- and 2.8-fold faster LT50 compared to control, respectively) when ingested by thrips. The dsRNA-fed thrips showed 53% and 83% reduced transcription levels of TLR6 and COPE, respectively. This result demonstrates that the observed mortality of thrips following dsRNA ingestion was due to RNAi, and this lethal genes can be employed as a practical tool to control thrips in the field.

• Seung Hee Han(Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Ju Hyeon Kim(Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Kyungmun Kim(Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Si Hyeock Lee(Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University/Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University)