Investigating RNAi as a management tool for prairie wireworms

Term: 3 years, beginning in 2021

Status: Ongoing

Funding Amount: $69,000

Lead Researcher(s): Dr. John Laurie (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge)

Funding Partners: Alberta Wheat Commission, Results Driven Agriculture Research, Western Grain Research Foundation

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Project Description

Wireworm is a pest of serious concern for many growers. This soil-dwelling insect is complex, consisting of multiple species having long life spans with the ability to damage numerous crops. Effective chemical control for wireworms has not been available in Canada since 2004, but new chemicals are in the pipeline for registration. However, a changing regulatory landscape has seen chemicals questioned or removed from the marketplace, meaning that non-chemical integrated pest management methods are needed for wireworm control. An integrated approach with targeted and environmentally-friendly tools is needed to most sustainably manage wireworm. We aim to address the wireworm problem in wheat by developing RNAi as a tool for wireworm suppression. RNAi has the potential to be powerful, targeted, and environmentally friendly and has been shown to have efficacy against over 20 insect crop pests. We will approach our RNAi goal for wireworm control from two angles. First is to develop a seed treatment where double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) will be used to target specific wireworm genes for down-regulation and then create Canola plants expressing RNAi targeted to specific wireworm genes and to use these plants as a "clean up" rotation crop. The intent of the Canola line is to rid the field of wireworms so that wheat can follow in rotation. By taking these two approaches, we can explore transgenic and non-transgenic approaches to RNAi delivery.