RNA Interference — Sustainable Alternatives to Chemical Pesticides
Description
This interactive virtual lab lets students design, produce, and deliver an RNA interference-based biopesticide from start to finish. Students build a dsRNA template flanked by T7 promoters, choose among six real-world production methods (in vitro transcription, PCR-based templates, bacterial expression, transgenic plants, chemical synthesis, or vector-based systems), and encapsulate the resulting dsRNA in a delivery system such as a polymer capsule, nanoparticle, liposome, or bacterial carrier. They then test whether their construct survives environmental UV exposure and insect gut RNase degradation, choose a delivery route to feed it to a real insect pest, and watch a cartoon-style animated sequence showing Dicer, siRNA, and the RISC complex silencing the target gene inside the insect's cells. The lab closes with a free-choice "build your own trial" station where students combine production, encapsulation, and delivery choices to see whether their strategy succeeds or fails against a real insect target, reinforced by a qPCR-style comparison against GFP and untreated controls.
Learning Outcomes
By completing this lab, students will be able to explain the RNAi mechanism, including the roles of dsRNA, Dicer, siRNA, and the RISC complex in silencing target mRNA. They will be able to compare methods of dsRNA production, including in vitro transcription, PCR-based templates, bacterial in vivo expression, transgenic plants, chemical synthesis, and vector-based systems, along with their relative advantages and limitations. Students will be able to explain why dsRNA must be encapsulated to protect it from UV and enzymatic degradation, and compare polymer, nanoparticle, liposome, and bacterial delivery systems in terms of protective efficacy. They will be able to evaluate different delivery routes (feeding, microinjection, topical application, and transgenic plants) for their suitability to a given insect target, and interpret phenotypic and qPCR-based evidence of successful gene knockdown, including the importance of non-target and untreated experimental controls.