Disruption of the ovarian serine protease (Osp) gene causes female sterility in Bombyx mori and Spodoptera litura. Issue 4 (20th November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Xia; Bi, Honglun; Wang, Yaohui; Li, Xiaowei; Xu, Jun; Liu, Zulian; He, Lin; Li, Kai; Huang, Yongping
• Is Part Of: Pest management science. Volume 76:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 1245
• Page End: 1255
• Publication Date: 2019-11-20
• Subjects: Osp -- female sterility -- Bombyx mori -- Spodoptera litura -- CRISPR/Cas9; Pests -- Control -- Periodicals; Pesticides -- Periodicals; 632.9
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.5634
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1526-498X

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Precise regulation of oogenesis is crucial to female reproduction. Seventy percent of pests belong to lepidopteran species, so it would be interesting to explore the highly conserved genes involved in oogenesis that do not affect growth and development in the lepidopteran model, Bombyx mori . This can provide potential target genes for pest control and promote the development of insect sterility technology. RESULTS: In lepidopteran species, ovarian serine protease ( Osp ), which encodes a member of the serine protease family, is essential for oogenesis. In this study, we used transgenic CRISPR/Cas9 technology to obtain Osp mutants in the model lepidopteran insect Bombyx mori and in the lepidopteran agricultural pest Spodoptera litura . Sequence analysis of mutants revealed an array of deletions in Osp loci in both species. We found that the deletion of Osp resulted in female sterility, whereas male fertility was not affected. Although B. mori and S. litura mutant females mated normally, they laid fewer eggs than wild‐type females and eggs did not hatch. CONCLUSION: Osp is crucial for female reproductive success in two species of Lepidoptera. As the Osp gene is highly conserved in insect species, this gene is a potential molecular target for genetic‐based pest management. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry Abstract : Loss of Osp function results in female sterility. (A) Images of eggs resulting from mating of wild type‐wild type (WT‐WT) controls (upper left), WT females with Δ BmOsp males (upper right), Δ BmOsp females with WT males (lower left), and Δ BmOsp females with Δ BmOsp males ( n = 30 pairs per group). Dark embryos are viable and light are not. (B) The number of eggs hatched (white), eggs unhatched (gray), and eggs unproduced (black) resulting from the crosses performed as described in panel A ( n = 30 per group). (C) Images of eggs laid by WT females mated with WT males (left) and ΔSlOsp females mated with WT males. (D) Numbers of eggs laid per moth by WT pairs, ΔSlOsp females mated with either WT or ΔSlOsp males, and WT females mated with ΔSlOsp males. (E) The hatchability rate of eggs laid by WT pairs, ΔSlOsp females mated with either WT or ΔSlOsp males, and WT females mated with ΔSlOsp males. The data shown are means ± SEM. Asterisks indicate significant differences with a two‐tailed t ‐test: * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, n.s. P > 0.05.