Dissipation of double‐stranded RNA in aquatic microcosms

Abstract

Silencing genes of a pest with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is a promising new pest management technology. As part of the environmental risk assessment for dsRNA-based products, the environmental fate and the potential for adverse effects to on-target organisms should be characterized. In the present study, a nonbioactive dsRNA was spiked into the water column of a water and sediment microcosm to mimic drift from a spray application run off of unbound dsRNA or transport of plant tissues. Dissipation of dsRNA in the water column and partitioning into sediment was determined. The dsRNA rapidly dissipated in the water column and was below the limit of detection after 96 h. The levels detected in the sediment were not significant and may indicate rapid degradation in the water column prior to partitioning to sediment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1249-1253. © 2016 SETAC.

Development of a Model System Approach for Generating Fragments of the Cry1Ab Protein

“…Because the goal of this study was to identify model systems that were capable of degrading Cry1Ab into fragments, no further work was performed with the fragments in the study. Separation and determination of the number of fragments present occurred in a subsequent study, in which the fragments generated were subjected to bioassays and ELISAs to determine whether any of the fragments were still detectable and/or whether any bioactivity was retained (22).…”

“…This is advantageous because it is best to avoid using the 50:1 ratio if possible due to the significant growth effects that were observed on insects fed a diet containing the higher concentration of chymotrypsin ( Figure 2B). Further work to determine whether the fragments are detectable by ELISAs and whether they retain any bioactivity was performed in a subsequent study (22).…”

“…Further work is needed to determine the number of fragments present (particularly in the band near 5 kDa). This was performed in a subsequent study, which determined whether the fragments were detectable by ELISAs and whether any bioactivity was retained by the fragments (22).…”

Environmental Fate and Dissipation of Applied dsRNA in Soil, Aquatic Systems, and Plants

“…The QuantiGene RNA assay has been used to accurately quantify dsRNA in environmental samples (Dubelman et al, 2014;Fischer et al, 2016;Albright et al, 2017;Fischer et al, 2017). This hybridization-based assay displays high specificity and can measure a single transcript from samples.…”

“…To mimic the entry of a dsRNA into an aquatic system through either spray drift or transport by plant tissues, Albright et al (2017) examined the dissipation of dsRNA within the water column and potential partitioning into the sediment compartment. As seen in Fischer et al (2017), dissipation in the water column was rapid [< limit of detection (LOD) after 96 hours].…”