The dsRNA Delivery, Targeting and Application in Pest Control

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

dsRNA delivery

This is a well-researched review article on RNAi, a tool for potentially controlling or managing insect populations through gene silencing.

 

Article is generally well organized and presented.  However, there are many, many edits and improvements in grammar that need to be made.  These do not affect the value of the article but do detract from its scholarship. 

 

Improvements in presentation can be made by making general statements (topic sentences) about what the literature says, instead of just plunging into the details from disparate studies and stating one fact after another.  Needs more flow.  Reviews are hard to present because they draw information from disparate studies.  It is up to the authors to pull the literature together to make the review coherent.

 

I did not check every reference, so authors will need to double check.  

 

Introduction:

L22: Better for a general reader audience to start off by stating that dsRNA shuts down specific genes, thus silencing and preventing protein translation.   Then state the three pathways..

 

Just some edits – I do not have the time to edit most of them…that is up to the authors..

L11: for silencing

L12: topically delivered

L13: synthesis of essential cellular components

L16-17: that are applied through spraying.

 

L21: genetics tool

L26-27.  Start “then” as a new sentence.

 

L44: Although this method cannot

 

L55-56: This sentence does not make sense: Uptake can be synthesized?

You mean “DsRNAs to be ingested by insects can be synthesized in vitro…”

 

L59: produces three times more dsRNA?

L62: for silencing genes in pests

L63: expressed dsRNA that triggered RNAi were first tested against cotton bollworm  

L64: delete “WCR” and just use D. virgifera virgifera throughout.

 

L86-87: Coleopteran …..and Orthopteran insects and mites

 

L99: essential cellular components

 

L141-142: enzyme, feeding dsJHE…This sentence needs revision

L157-158: modify this sentence

L161: How is the chitin synthase “knocked down”? 

Sentence is structurally flawed….Knockdown….showed a significantly increase in mortality

 

The rest of the article: pay attention to grammar and sentence structure.

 

Table 1 is valuable buy include the pest organisms affected

Also seems like there could be a way to summarize all the information presented in the text in a more coherent way in another table.  Make general statements in the text, and then refer the reader to a table that shows the specifics.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This review paper by Lu et al described the dsRNA technology to pest control. This review is not new in this sector, as many review articles were already published. However, author tried to summarize the application method, target genes and information regarding the available product for pest management. Only these information are not sufficient to published in this high impact journal, so author must need to covered the information in depth. I dint found the recent status, challenges associated with RNAi, how it can be user friendly, future implications, way forward. 

Summarize RNAi base product information in table including specific target insect, availability and their efficacy. 

I didn't found conclusion remarks of this study. I suggest to author try to summarize the major highlights of your study.

 

Minor comments

Line 29-32: Why RNAi efficacy varies among insects? Among insects mean species specific or in order level? Please provide specific example.

Line 37, 46 and 55: Change DsRNA to dsRNA (check in whole manuscript)

Please, write all gene name in italic font.

Table 1 caption is not correct as information in table, Please re write table caption

Write the Table caption for Table S1. 

Check reference format for  #53, 54, 68, 85, 90, 97, 107.....

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Research on the effects of new pesticides on insect pests is undeniably relevant. Economically justified. It is important to keep track of world trends and achievements periodically for a large number of publications in different countries.

The work does not disclose at all works on the study and effective use of phytoecdysteroids. The compounds isolated from plants that affect the effect of the molting hormone on insects, after eating the leaves treated with these substances, the caterpillars quickly pupate, and deformed adults emerge from them, which are no longer able to produce offspring. An analysis of these works should be added to this publication.

Perhaps information should also be added on the use of, for example, essential oils as insecticides and plant protection repellants.

Perhaps the proposals made to expand the presentation of literature data will be used to write a new review of publications on the problem of plant protection from pests and diseases of agricultural valuable plants.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I found this manuscript is subsequently improved. However, this is not a new area of study, many publications have already been published. Authors need to provide additional information, which was not covered, not focused and will be new for readers. I suggest to the authors incorporate the following things in the revised manuscript.

Please summarize the stability of dsRNA at the field level focusing on the major factors which affect the stability. 

Please try to summarize all the application methods (Spraying, nanoparticle, and others) with their efficacy, advantage and disadvantage over other methods. only the introduction is covered by previously published papers.

Line 32: The order level is a too large range of groups. It should be species level. Please check it. 

Table 2. Please, check for other available products and try to provide more information about that products. 

 

Rearrange Tables 1 and 2 in landscape design, so they will be easy to understand. 

Line 46: Fig.1 =Figure 1

Line 56: the =The

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf