dsRNA interference on expression of a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene of Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus

•Three dsRNAs interfering with expression of BmCPV-RDRP gene were developed.•Injecting 4–6 ng dsRNA per mg body weight achieved satisfied interference effect.•BmCPV-RDRP gene expression was inhibited to 99.9% by RNAi in silkworm larvae.•RNAi of BmCPV-RDRP gene down-regulated expression of other genes of the virus.•Injection of siRNA is suitable for RNAi studies on virus replication in silkworm.

Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) is one of the major viral pathogens in silkworm. Its infection often results in significant losses to sericulture. Studies have demonstrated that RNAi is one of the important anti-viral mechanisms in organisms. In this study, three dsRNAs targeting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP) gene of BmCPV were designed and synthesized with 2′-F modification to explore their interference effects on BmCPV replication in silkworm larvae. The results showed that injecting dsRNA in the dosage of 4–6 ng per mg body weight into the 5th instar larvae can interfere with the BmCPV-RDRP expression by 93% after virus infection and by 99.9% before virus infection. In addition, the expression of two viral structural protein genes (genome RNA segments 1 and 5) was also decreased with the decrease of RDRP expression, suggesting that RNAi interference of BmCPV-RDRP expression could affect viral replication. The study provides an effective method for investigating virus replication as well as the virus–host interactions in the silkworm larvae using dsRNA.

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