Applications of RNA Interference in insect pest management

RNA interference (RNAi) is a technique which is being used for analyzing the functions of individual genes by employing loss-of-function analyses. It has been widely used in entomological research to study the functions of genes in variety of insects. This technology has great potential in insect pest management due to its high specificity. In this paper, we focus on the approaches of introducing dsRNA (double strand RNA) into insect like microinjection, oral feeding, topical, plant mediated and nanoparticles. The significant effects of silencing various genes involved in morphogenesis, reproduction and detoxification of insecticides in insect pests are also discussed.