Method for the Production of dsRNA - Banco de Patentes

Gene silencing mediated by RNA or RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural defense mechanism against genetic elements and, in most eukaryotic organisms, it is also an important regulatory way of gene expression. RNAi is triggered by the presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). A promising application of these dsRNAs is to use them against pests and pathogens, as the ingestion of dsRNAs by nematodes, insects and other arthropods induces the silencing of endogenous homologous genes, and by choosing which genes to silence, this technology can be used to kill them or affect their development. However, one of the main problems that hinder the use of this technology is the dsRNAs production methods. The technology presented here allows the production of large quantities of dsRNA using Escherichia coli as a biofactory, overcoming the main limitation of this technology. Moreover, the inventor team has, and is developing, know-how on microencapsulation and stabilization methods to allow topic application of dsRNA.