In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Background Pesticidal RNAs that silence critical gene function have great potential in pest management, but the benefits of this technology must be weighed against non-target organism risks. Methods Published studies that developed pesticidal double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were collated into a databa...

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Main Authors: Christina L. Mogren, Jonathan Gary Lundgren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2017-12-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/4131.pdf
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author Christina L. Mogren
Jonathan Gary Lundgren
author_facet Christina L. Mogren
Jonathan Gary Lundgren
author_sort Christina L. Mogren
collection DOAJ
description Background Pesticidal RNAs that silence critical gene function have great potential in pest management, but the benefits of this technology must be weighed against non-target organism risks. Methods Published studies that developed pesticidal double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were collated into a database. The target gene sequences for these pesticidal RNAs were determined, and the degree of similarity with sequences in the honey bee genome were evaluated statistically. Results We identified 101 insecticidal RNAs sharing high sequence similarity with genomic regions in honey bees. The likelihood that off-target sequences were similar increased with the number of nucleotides in the dsRNA molecule. The similarities of non-target genes to the pesticidal RNA was unaffected by taxonomic relatedness of the target insect to honey bees, contrary to previous assertions. Gene groups active during honey bee development had disproportionately high sequence similarity with pesticidal RNAs relative to other areas of the genome. Discussion Although sequence similarity does not itself guarantee a significant phenotypic effect in honey bees by the primary dsRNA, in silico screening may help to identify appropriate experimental endpoints within a risk assessment framework for pesticidal RNAi.
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spelling doaj.art-c3c19f29096c4f6483e8f87a1f0f23622023-12-03T07:08:59ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-12-015e413110.7717/peerj.4131In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)Christina L. Mogren0Jonathan Gary Lundgren1Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai’i, United States of AmericaEcdysis Foundation, Estelline, SD, USABackground Pesticidal RNAs that silence critical gene function have great potential in pest management, but the benefits of this technology must be weighed against non-target organism risks. Methods Published studies that developed pesticidal double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were collated into a database. The target gene sequences for these pesticidal RNAs were determined, and the degree of similarity with sequences in the honey bee genome were evaluated statistically. Results We identified 101 insecticidal RNAs sharing high sequence similarity with genomic regions in honey bees. The likelihood that off-target sequences were similar increased with the number of nucleotides in the dsRNA molecule. The similarities of non-target genes to the pesticidal RNA was unaffected by taxonomic relatedness of the target insect to honey bees, contrary to previous assertions. Gene groups active during honey bee development had disproportionately high sequence similarity with pesticidal RNAs relative to other areas of the genome. Discussion Although sequence similarity does not itself guarantee a significant phenotypic effect in honey bees by the primary dsRNA, in silico screening may help to identify appropriate experimental endpoints within a risk assessment framework for pesticidal RNAi.https://peerj.com/articles/4131.pdfRNAiNon-targetRisk assessmentTransgenic cropsPesticideInsecticide
spellingShingle Christina L. Mogren
Jonathan Gary Lundgren
In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
PeerJ
RNAi
Non-target
Risk assessment
Transgenic crops
Pesticide
Insecticide
title In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
title_full In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
title_fullStr In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
title_full_unstemmed In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
title_short In silico identification of off-target pesticidal dsRNA binding in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
title_sort in silico identification of off target pesticidal dsrna binding in honey bees apis mellifera
topic RNAi
Non-target
Risk assessment
Transgenic crops
Pesticide
Insecticide
url https://peerj.com/articles/4131.pdf
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