ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Invertebrate Physiology
Knockdown of vATPase subunit A impairs larval-pupal development in Plutella xylostella
- XY
Xuetao Yu 1
- YJ
Yanan Jiang 2
- LR
Lijie Ren 1
- JL
Jinhua Luo 3
- ZD
Zhanhao Dai 1
- LL
Lin Lu 1
- LR
Li Ren 1
- LZ
Li Zhu 1
- CL
Chao Li 1
- QW
Qidi Wei 4
- GW
Gang Wu 1
- XY
Xiaohong Yan 1
- CS
Chenhui Shen 1
1. Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China
2. Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya, Hainan, China
3. Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Enshi City, China
4. Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Science Guizhou Institute of Subtropical Crops, Guiyang, China
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Abstract
Plutella xylostella is a destructive pest damaging the cruciferous plants worldwide. Transgenic plants expressing dsRNAcan be widely deployed for pest control. However, highly effective lethal target genes are currently lacking. Here, we assessed the efficacy of RNA interference (RNAi) against P. xylostella through microinjection of in vitro synthesized dsRNA targeting PxvATPaseA. The full-length ORF of PxvATPaseA was 1848 bp, encoding 615 amino acids. PxvATPaseA was widely transcribed during different developmental stages from egg to adult. It was abundantly expressed in the foregut, hindgut, and Malpighian tubules, compared with other tissue types. Injecting 800 ng of dsPxvATPaseA into the fourth-instar larvae greatly reduced the corresponding mRNA level by 1.88-fold on day 2, causing 45.8% larval mortality, and lastly 54.2% treated larvae sucessfully pupated. At a higher dose of 1200 ng of dsPxvATPaseA, RNAi efficacy was significantly enhanced. The expression level of PxvATPaseA was reduced by 2.22-fold and 1.92-fold on day 2 and 3, respectively, leading to 79.2% larval lethality, and only 20.8% of depleted larvae pupated. Our results indicate that PxvATPaseA is an effective target for managing P. xylostella. These findings will facilitate the development of new insecticides and the cultivation of pest-resistant plants.
Summary
Keywords
development, Microinjection, Plutella xylostella, PxvATPaseA, RNA Interference
Received
21 August 2026
Accepted
15 September 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Yu, Jiang, Ren, Luo, Dai, Lu, Ren, Zhu, Li, Wei, Wu, Yan and Shen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Xiaohong Yan; Chenhui Shen
Disclaimer
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