Disruption of egg‐specific protein causes female sterility in Bombyx mori

Yolk proteins are the main source of nutrients during embryonic and early larval development in oviparous animals. Therefore, vitellogenesis is crucial for reproduction. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, is a model lepidopteran insect in which there are three yolk proteins: vitellin, 30‐kDa protein, and eg...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insect science 2022-02, Vol.29 (1), p.128-138
Main Authors: Xu, Xia, Wang, Yao‐Hui, Liu, Zu‐Lian, Wang, Yong‐Qiang, He, Lin, Li, Kai, Huang, Yong‐Ping
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Genetically Modified
Bombyx - genetics
Bombyx mori
Breeding success
CRISPR
CRISPR/Cas9
Developmental stages
Egg Proteins
Eggs
Embryogenesis
Esp
Female
female sterility
Females
Fertility
Heredity
Infertility, Female
Insect Proteins - genetics
Insects
Larval development
Male
Mutants
Mutation
Nutrients
Pest control
Proteins
Reproduction
Silkworms
Sterility
Vitellin
Vitellogenesis
Yolk
Yolk protein
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Yolk proteins are the main source of nutrients during embryonic and early larval development in oviparous animals. Therefore, vitellogenesis is crucial for reproduction. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, is a model lepidopteran insect in which there are three yolk proteins: vitellin, 30‐kDa protein, and egg‐specific protein (Esp). In this study, we explored the gene function of Esp through transgenic clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR‐associated protein 9 technology‐mediated mutations in the silkworm. We found that Esp mutation resulted in female sterility but had no effect on male fertility. Female mutants could lay eggs after mating, but the eggs were smaller and lighter colored than those laid by wild‐type females. The most important finding is that the eggs laid by female mutants did not hatch. Furthermore, we observed stable inheritance of female sterility caused by Esp mutation through successive generations. Thus, Esp encodes a yolk protein that is crucial for female reproductive success and is a potential target for pest control. Esp plays a key role in female reproduction. Esp deficiency results in female sterility but male fertility. Female sterility caused by Esp mutation can be passed on to offspring stably and the dominant effect could be observed in the mutants. In addition, the competence of the mutants is not affected through the competitive analysis. Our data indicate that Esp is a suitable target gene for genetic sterile insect technology to control lepidopteran pest populations.
ISSN:1672-9609
1744-7917
DOI:10.1111/1744-7917.12904