RESEARCH FELLOW
giulia.lucetti(AT)ipsp.cnr.it
publications: Orcid
personal details and research activity: People
Curriculum Vitae
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 the cost and material loss during dsRNA purification.