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Engineering silkworms for resistance to baculovirus through multigene RNA interference
Edupalli V Subbaiah1, Corinne Royer, Sriramana Kanginakudru
1Centre of Excellence for Genetics and Genomics of Silkmoths, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad 500 001, India.
Genetics
|October 30, 2012
Summary
Transgenic silkworms engineered to target essential Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) genes exhibit robust resistance to infection. This breakthrough offers significant protection for silk cocoon crops, boosting sericulture productivity.
Area of Science:
- Genetics and Genetic Engineering
- Insect Pathology
- Agricultural Science
Background:
- Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) causes substantial global silk cocoon crop losses, exceeding 50%.
- Developing stable resistance in silkworms is crucial for mitigating economic impacts on sericulture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer transgenic silkworms with enhanced resistance to BmNPV through simultaneous targeting of viral genes.
- To assess the stability and efficacy of the antiviral trait in commercially relevant silkworm strains.
Main Methods:
- Introduction of transgenes encoding short sequences of four essential BmNPV genes into the silkworm germline.
- Testing transgenic lines for resistance against high doses of BmNPV infection.
- Incorporation of the antiviral trait into a commercial silkworm strain.
Main Results:
- Transgenic silkworms with inverted-repeat transgenes demonstrated stable protection against BmNPV.
- The antiviral trait was successfully combined with high-yielding cocoon and silk production traits.
- Transgenic lines showed significantly higher survival rates (>75%) compared to non-transgenic controls (<15%).
- Impaired infectivity of BmNPV occlusion bodies from transgenic lines was observed.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous targeting of essential BmNPV genes in transgenic silkworms confers a high level of stable antiviral defense.
- This approach successfully integrates disease resistance with desirable economic traits in silkworms.
- Large-scale exploitation of these transgenic lines holds potential for transforming the sericulture industry.
