Fig. 1

Experimental system used to evaluate if the PMRi lines generated from Manduca sexta genes can silence M. quinquemaculata homologous genes. a Fifth-instar M. sexta and its closely related species M. quinquemaculata larvae on their native host plant, the wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata in Great Basin Desert of southwestern Utah. b Schematic overview of plant-mediated RNAi: the binary vector constructed to independently express ~300 bp dsRNA of M. sexta’s target genes such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP6B46) and β-glucosidase1 (BG1) in N. attenuata. The trophic transfer of these dsRNA from plant to M. sexta larvae silences their respective target gene expression. PMRi lines generated with M. sexta dsRNA were used to test if the trophic transfer can also silence homologous gene expression in M. quinquemaculata larvae in nature