meoni

The ReSet project aims to explore the mechanism of RNAi applied to control phytoplasma insect vectors, endowed with pierce/sucking mouthparts. Research activities will be focused on the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of the grapevine Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasma. The presence of an effective RNAi mechanism in the organisms under study has already been described and applied in the laboratory by the Research Units involved in the Project. The control of this species currently requires mandatory repeated applications of insecticides in the vineyard, with undesired effects on the…

In the present project, RNAi will be explored for the control of the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), an alien quarantine species highly polyphagous that cause severe damages to crops. The management of P. japonica in Italy is under the official control of the National Plant Protection Services and mainly based on applications of chemical insecticides. Therefore, innovative and sustainable alternative strategies are urgently needed. The use of microalgae and cyanobacteria for production and delivery of dsRNA offers the advantage of the direct foliar application of the microorganism avoiding…

In the HEMINT Project, RNAi will be explored for the control of two hemipteran species that cause severe damages to crops: the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), main vector of Flavescence dorée (FD) phytoplasmas of grapevine. Both species currently require repeated applications of chemical insecticides for their control, thus disrupting the IPM programs developed in their absence in orchards and vineyards. Therefore, innovative and sustainable alternative strategies are urgently needed. The occurrence of RNAi in the pests under study, already…