In silico analyses of miRNAs that Target Odorant Binding and Chemosensory Proteins in Bemisia tabaci

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, damages various crops by releasing honeydew and spreading. Although farmers and pest control experts primarily rely on insecticides to manage whiteflies, the notable issue is their tendency to develop resistance to major insecticide categories, posing a significant challenge. This result has led to the improvement of new drugs or insecticide mixtures. In addition, some plant-based studies have been conducted to control whiteflies, and RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been used in recent years. This study aimed to identify the relationships between tobacco, cotton, tomato, and linen miRNAs and odorant-binding protein (OBP) and chemosensory protein (CSP) genes in whiteflies by using in silico approaches. We determined that 115 miRNAs belonging to these plants targeted 13 CSP and 8 OBP genes of B. tabaci. Obtaining findings are important to reduce dependency on chemicals and pesticides in pest management.