| Title: | "CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis against sex pheromone biosynthesis leads to loss of female attractiveness in Spodoptera exigua, an insect pestt" |
| Author(s): | Ahmed S; Roy MC; Al Baki MA; Jung JK; Lee D; Kim Y; |
| Address: | "Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea. Division of Crop Cultivation and Environment Research, Department of Central Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, Korea. Metabolomics Research Center for Functional Materials, Kyungsung University, Busan, Korea" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0259322 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Virgin female moths are known to release sex pheromones to attract conspecific males. Accurate sex pheromones are required for their chemical communication. Sex pheromones of Spodoptera exigua, a lepidopteran insect, contain unsaturated fatty acid derivatives having a double bond at the 12th carbon position. A desaturase of S. exigua (SexiDES5) was proposed to have dual functions by forming double bonds at the 11th and 12th carbons to synthesize Z9,E12-tetradecedienoic acid, which could be acetylated to be a main sex pheromone component Z9,E12-tetradecenoic acetate (Z9E12-14:Ac). A deletion of SexiDES5 using CRISPR/Cas9 was generated and inbred to obtain homozygotes. Mutant females could not produce Z9E12-14:Ac along with Z9-14:Ac and Z11-14:Ac. Subsequently, pheromone extract of mutant females did not induce a sensory signal in male antennae. They failed to induce male mating behavior including hair pencil erection and orientation. In the field, these mutant females did not attract any males while control females attracted males. These results indicate that SexiDES5 can catalyze the desaturation at the 11th and 12th positions to produce sex pheromone components in S. exigua. This study also suggests an application of the genome editing technology to insect pest control by generating non-attractive female moths" |
| Keywords: | Animals CRISPR-Cas Systems Insect Control *Sex Attractants *Spodoptera; |
| Notes: | "MedlineAhmed, Shabbir Roy, Miltan Chandra Al Baki, Md Abdullah Jung, Jin Kyo Lee, Daeweon Kim, Yonggyun eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2021/11/18 PLoS One. 2021 Nov 17; 16(11):e0259322. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259322. eCollection 2021" |
