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Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6177-7299
Date Available
10-23-2026
Year of Publication
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College
Agriculture, Food and Environment
Department/School/Program
Entomology
Faculty
Lynne Rieske-Kinney
Charles Fox
Abstract
The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is an invasive wood- boring beetle from Asia that primarily feeds on ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Since its invasion of North America, EAB threatens the functional extinction of ash with damages and management costs projected to reach $900 million by 2054. Current management strategies have been insufficient to prevent EAB’s spread, highlighting the need to advance innovative approaches like RNAi, which has demonstrated efficacy against EAB in laboratory and greenhouse trials. Double-stranded RNA targeting heat shock 70-kDa protein (hsp) induces EAB mortality, systematically disperses and persists in planta, and causes no phenotypic effects for several ash-associated insects. We evaluated the environmental and nontarget effects of dsHSP, focusing on soil communities. In laboratory soil incubation assays, dsHSP was recovered up to 8 h post-treatment. Exposure of the collembolan Folsomia candida to dsHSP-treated soil had no effects on adult survival or body length, but increased reproduction. Field foliar applications of dsHSP on ash trees produced no consistent effect on collembolan abundance, while Shannon diversity, hymenopteran, and acarian abundance were minimally impacted. dsHSP was not recovered from soil near treated trees, validating our field design. In the laboratory, soil prokaryotes showed little response in community diversity or composition.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.456
Archival?
Archival
1st Funding Information
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southern Research Station
24-JV-11330101-108
2nd Funding Information
University of Kentucky
23-DG-11083150-122
3rd Funding Information
Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station under McIntire-Stennis
2352657000
Recommended Citation
Boa, Faith S., "Effects of emerald ash borer specific gene silencing using RNA interference on soil communities" (2026). University of Kentucky Master's Theses. 677.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/677
