Vitellogenin (Vg) plays vital role in oocytes and embryo development in insects. Vg is synthesized in the fat body, moves through haemolymph and accumulates in oocytes. Vitellogenin receptors (VgR) present on the surface of oocytes, are responsible for Vg transportation from haemolymph to oocytes. Here, we cloned and characterized these genes from Bemisia tabaci Asia1 (BtA1) species. The cloned BtA1Vg and BtA1VgR genes consisted of 6,330 and 5,430 bp long open reading frames, which encoded 2,109 and 1,809 amino acid (AA) residues long protein. The BtA1Vg protein comprised LPD_N, DUF1943 and VWFD domains, typical R/KXXR/K, DGXR and GL/ICG motifs, and polyserine tracts. BtA1VgR protein contained 12 LDLa, 10 LDLb and 7 EGF domains, and a trans-membrane and cytoplasmic region at C-terminus. Phylogenetic analyses indicated evolutionary association of BtA1Vg and BtA1VgR with the homologous proteins from various insect species. Silencing of BtA1VgR by siRNA did not affect the transcript level of BtA1Vg. However, BtA1Vg protein accumulation in oocytes was directly influenced with the expression level of BtA1VgR. Further, BtA1VgR silencing caused significant mortality and reduced fecundity in adult whiteflies. The results established the role of BtA1VgR in transportation of BtA1Vg in oocytes. Further, these proteins are essential for fecundity, and therefore these can be potential RNAi targets for insect control in crop plants.

Insect pests impose a serious threat to agricultural productivity. Initially, for pest management, several breeding approaches were applied which have now been gradually replaced by genome editing (GE) strategies as they are more efficient and less laborious. CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR-associated system) was discovered as an adaptive immune system of bacteria and with the scientific advancements, it has been improvised into a revolutionary genome editing technique. Due to its specificity and easy handling, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing has been applied to a wide range of organisms for various research purposes. For pest control, diverse approaches have been applied utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-like systems, thereby making the pests susceptible to various insecticides, compromising the reproductive fitness of the pest, hindering the metamorphosis of the pest, and there have been many other benefits. This article reviews the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 and proposes potential research ideas for CRISPR/Cas9-based integrated pest management. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been successfully applied to several insect pest species. However, there is no review available which thoroughly summarizes the application of the technique in insect genome editing for pest control. Further, authors have highlighted the advancements in CRISPR/Cas9 research and have discussed its future possibilities in pest management.

Plants naturally emit methanol as volatile organic compound. Methanol is toxic to insect pests; but the quantity produced by most of the plants is not enough to protect them against invading insect pests. In the present study, we demonstrated that the over-expression of pectin methylesterase, derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and Aspergillus niger, in transgenic tobacco plants enhances methanol production and resistance to polyphagous insect pests. Methanol content in the leaves of transgenic plants was measured using proton nuclear spectroscopy (1H NMR) and spectra showed up to 16 fold higher methanol as compared to control wild type (WT) plants. A maximum of 100 and 85% mortality in chewing insects Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura larvae was observed, respectively when fed on transgenic plants leaves. The surviving larvae showed less feeding, severe growth retardation and could not develop into pupae. In-planta bioassay on transgenic lines showed up to 99 and 75% reduction in the population multiplication of plant sap sucking pests Myzus persicae (aphid) and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly), respectively. Most of the phenotypic characters of transgenic plants were similar to WT plants. Confocal microscopy showed no deformities in cellular integrity, structure and density of stomata and trichomes of transgenic plants compared to WT. Pollen germination and tube formation was also not affected in transgenic plants. Cell wall enzyme transcript levels were comparable with WT. This study demonstrated for the first time that methanol emission can be utilized for imparting broad range insect resistance in plants.

RNA interference has been emerged as an utmost tool for the control of sap sucking insect pests. Systemic response is necessary to control them in field condition. Whitefly is observed to be more prone to siRNA in recent studies, however the siRNA machinery and mechanism is not well established. To identify the core siRNA machinery, we curated transcriptome data of whitefly from NCBI database. Partial mRNA sequences encoding Dicer2, R2D2, Argonaute2 and Sid1 were identified by tblastn search of homologous sequences from Aphis glycines and Tribolium castaneum. Complete encoding sequences were obtained by RACE, protein sequences derived by Expasy translate tool and confirmed by blastp analysis. Conserved domain search and Prosite-Scan showed similar domain architecture as reported in homologs from related insects. We found helicase, PAZ, RNaseIIIa, RNaseIIIb and double-stranded RNA-binding fold (DSRBF) in Dicer2; DsRBD in R2D2; and PAZ and PIWI domains in Argonaute2. Eleven transmembrane domains were detected in Sid1. Sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis revealed that RNAi machinery of whitefly is close to Aphids. Real-time PCR analysis showed similar expression of these genes in different developmental stages as reported in A. glycines and T. castaneum. Further, the expression level of above genes was quite similar to the housekeeping gene actin. Availability of core siRNA machinery including the Sid1 and their universal expression in reasonable quantity indicated significant response of whitefly towards siRNA. Present report opens the way for controlling whitefly, one of the most destructive crop insect pest.

Peroxidases are the ubiquitous enzyme and reported to be present in all living genera. They catalyses reduction of peroxide and generate reactive oxygen species. In the present study we demonstrated that insect infestation induces peroxidase activity in sap and total soluble protein (TSP) of plant leaves. Three important crop plants viz. tomato, cowpea and cotton were used for this study. After infestation of chewing insect, Peroxidase activity in the sap and TSP of all the studied plants were enhanced in the range of 1.6 to 3.14 fold. Similar observations were also obtained with feeding of sap sucking insects, in which increment in peroxidase activity of sap and TSP was in the range of 1.8 to 2.53 fold. Enhanced peroxidase activity was reconfirmed by in-gel peroxidase assay. Enzyme kinetic study showed turn over efficiency of peroxidase from cotton (~101.3 min-1) was almost similar to tomato (~100.8 min-1) but higher than cowpea (~98.21min-1). MS/MS analysis of observed band showed significant similarity...