Silencing of rice stripe virus in Laodelphax striatellus using virus-derived double-stranded RNAs

Abstract Rice stripe virus (RSV) is one of the serious plant pathogenic viruses for rice and transmitted by small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus . RNA interference (RNAi) is an innate defense mechanism against viral infection in eukaryotic organisms including insects. To disturb transmission of the RSV in L. striatellus using RNAi pathway, RSV-derived dsRNAs were applied to the insects indirectly through rice leaves by irrigation. As a result, replication of RSV in L. striatellus ingested RSV-derived dsRNAs was reduced in dose-dependent manner, suggesting that these dsRNA could induce innate antiviral RNAi pathway in L. striatellus and therefore suppress replication of RSV.