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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus
Published on: December 28, 2016
Gene knockdown by RNAi in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum
Stéphanie Jaubert-Possamai1, Gaël Le Trionnaire, Joël Bonhomme
1INRA, Agrocampus Rennes, UMR 1099 BiO3P (Biology of Organisms and Populations applied to Plant Protection), F-35653 LE RHEU, France. stephanie.jaubert@rennes.inra.fr
Background:
RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful method to inhibit gene expression in a sequence specific manner.
Results:
Here, we described the development of RNAi by micro-injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Injection of dsRNA into whole aphid body induced the silencing of two marker genes with different expression patterns: the ubiquitously expressed Ap-crt genes encoding a calreticulin and the gut specific Ap-cath-L gene encoding a cathepsin-L. Time-course analysis of the silencing showed similar temporal patterns for both genes: inhibition started at 1 day after injection, reached its maximum at 5 days and stopped at 7 days. A comparable 40% decrease of gene expression was observed for Ap-crt and Ap-cath-L.
Conclusion:
The pea aphid is the first Hemipteran insect for which genome sequence will be available soon. The gene knockdown technique developed in this study will be an essential post-genomic tool for further investigations in aphidology.
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