Chemical synthesis of long dsRNA is not feasible for agricultural applications due to the limit of technology and the high cost.
There are two non-chemical sources of dsRNA: in vivo synthesis and in vitro transcription. There are Pros and Cons for each method as described in the next Table.
| Method |
Time and Labor demand |
Cost/Unit RNA |
Biosafety |
Purification |
Mass production |
| In vivo |
High |
High Also requires a large fermenting system |
Considerable concern |
Hard |
Possible |
| In vitro |
Medium |
Moderate |
N/A |
Easy |
Maybe |
For field application, dsRNA should be made according to the following three rules.
First, dsRNA should be supplied in bulk in a cost-effective manner. Second, the RNA does not need to be as pure as for medical application. Third, the source of the dsRNA should entail minimal GMO concerns. Considering all of these issues, agroRNA has developed the most effective procedures for the synthesis of dsRNA of mg to kg scale ranging from 100 to 800 bp in a manner which is free from any GMO or bio-safety issues. The technology is based on the most effective method of dsRNA synthesis per supplied rNTP unit developed by agroRNA.