Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies
Whiteflies are a group of universally occurring insects that are considered to be a serious pest in their own way for causing both direct and indirect damages to crops. A few of them serve as vectors of plant viruses that are detrimental to the crop in question and cause an actual loss in productivi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/7/585 |
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| author | Sharad Saurabh Manisha Mishra Preeti Rai Rashmi Pandey Jyoti Singh Akansha Khare Meeta Jain Pradhyumna Kumar Singh |
| author_facet | Sharad Saurabh Manisha Mishra Preeti Rai Rashmi Pandey Jyoti Singh Akansha Khare Meeta Jain Pradhyumna Kumar Singh |
| author_sort | Sharad Saurabh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Whiteflies are a group of universally occurring insects that are considered to be a serious pest in their own way for causing both direct and indirect damages to crops. A few of them serve as vectors of plant viruses that are detrimental to the crop in question and cause an actual loss in productivity. A lot of attention is focused on pest control measures under the umbrella of IPM. In this review, we attempt to summarize the existing literature on how and why whiteflies are a serious concern for agriculture and society. We reviewed why there could be a need for fresh insight into the ways and means with which the pest can be combated. Here, we have emphasized next-generation strategies based on macromolecules, i.e., RNA interference and genetic engineering (for the expression of anti-whitefly proteins), as these strategies possess the greatest scope for research and improvement in the future. Recent scientific efforts based on nanotechnology and genome editing, which seem to offer great potential for whitefly/crop pest control, have been discussed. Comprehensive apprehensions related to obstacles in the path of taking lab-ready technologies into the farmers’ field have also been highlighted. Although the use of RNAi, GM crops, nanotechnologies, for the control of whiteflies needs to be evaluated in the field, there is an emerging range of possible applications with promising prospects for the control of these tiny flies that are mighty pests. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:48:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8047eb1d1e48436893c685117f2326e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:48:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-8047eb1d1e48436893c685117f2326e92023-12-03T13:13:12ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502021-06-0112758510.3390/insects12070585Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of WhitefliesSharad Saurabh0Manisha Mishra1Preeti Rai2Rashmi Pandey3Jyoti Singh4Akansha Khare5Meeta Jain6Pradhyumna Kumar Singh7Insect Defense Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, 435, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaDevelopmental Toxicology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Vishvigyan Bhawan, 31, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaInsect Defense Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, 435, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaDevelopmental Toxicology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Vishvigyan Bhawan, 31, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaInsect Defense Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, 435, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaInsect Defense Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, 435, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaSchool of Biochemistry, Khandwa Rd., D.A.V.V., Bhawarkuwa, DAVV Takshila Parisar, Indore 452001, Madhya Pradesh, IndiaInsect Defense Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, 435, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaWhiteflies are a group of universally occurring insects that are considered to be a serious pest in their own way for causing both direct and indirect damages to crops. A few of them serve as vectors of plant viruses that are detrimental to the crop in question and cause an actual loss in productivity. A lot of attention is focused on pest control measures under the umbrella of IPM. In this review, we attempt to summarize the existing literature on how and why whiteflies are a serious concern for agriculture and society. We reviewed why there could be a need for fresh insight into the ways and means with which the pest can be combated. Here, we have emphasized next-generation strategies based on macromolecules, i.e., RNA interference and genetic engineering (for the expression of anti-whitefly proteins), as these strategies possess the greatest scope for research and improvement in the future. Recent scientific efforts based on nanotechnology and genome editing, which seem to offer great potential for whitefly/crop pest control, have been discussed. Comprehensive apprehensions related to obstacles in the path of taking lab-ready technologies into the farmers’ field have also been highlighted. Although the use of RNAi, GM crops, nanotechnologies, for the control of whiteflies needs to be evaluated in the field, there is an emerging range of possible applications with promising prospects for the control of these tiny flies that are mighty pests.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/7/585whiteflies<i>Bemisia tabaci</i>RNA interferencetarget genesanti-whitefly proteinsgenetic engineering |
| spellingShingle | Sharad Saurabh Manisha Mishra Preeti Rai Rashmi Pandey Jyoti Singh Akansha Khare Meeta Jain Pradhyumna Kumar Singh Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies Insects whiteflies <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> RNA interference target genes anti-whitefly proteins genetic engineering |
| title | Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies |
| title_full | Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies |
| title_fullStr | Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies |
| title_short | Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity—A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies |
| title_sort | tiny flies a mighty pest that threatens agricultural productivity a case for next generation control strategies of whiteflies |
| topic | whiteflies <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> RNA interference target genes anti-whitefly proteins genetic engineering |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/7/585 |
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