Genetic marking of sex using a W chromosome-linked transgene

High-throughput and genome-scale targeted mutagenesis using CRISPR in a nonmodel multicellular organism, Bombyx mori

Large-scale genetic mutant libraries are powerful approaches to interrogating genotype-phenotype correlations and identifying genes responsible for certain environmental stimuli, both of which are the central goal of life science study. We produced the first large-scale CRISPR-Cas9-induced library in a nonmodel multicellular organism, Bombyx mori We developed a piggyBac-delivered binary genome editing strategy, which can simultaneously meet the requirements of mixed microinjection, efficient multipurpose genetic operation, and preservation of growth-defect lines. We constructed a single-guide RNA (sgRNA) plasmid library containing 92,917 sgRNAs targeting promoters and exons of 14,645 protein-coding genes, established 1726 transgenic sgRNA lines following microinjection of 66,650 embryos, and generated 300 mutant lines with diverse phenotypic changes. Phenomic characterization of mutant lines identified a large set of genes responsible for visual phenotypic or economically valuable trait changes. Next, we performed pooled context-specific positive screens for tolerance to environmental pollutant cadmium exposure, and identified KWMTBOMO12902 as a strong candidate gene for breeding applications in sericulture industry. Collectively, our results provide a novel and versatile approach for functional B. mori genomics, as well as a powerful resource for identifying the potential of key candidate genes for improving various economic traits. This study also shows the effectiveness, practicality, and convenience of large-scale mutant libraries in other nonmodel organisms.

Sex separation by body color via a W-chromosome-linked transgene

Sex separation processes are important for commercial insect production and sterile insect techniques. Here, we describe the transgenic insertion of a DsRed expression cassette driven by the enhancer HR3 and strong promoter IE1 into the silkworm W chromosome as a dominant visible marker of sex separation. The obtained transgenic lines showed female-specific body color visible to the naked eye at the second- to fifth-instar larval, pupal and adult stages, and their performance traits were comparable to those of a nontransgenic practical silkworm variety. This strategy can greatly facilitate the sex separation of silkworms for male-only rearing and to obtain hybrids while avoiding sibling mating, and it can also be applied to the sex separation of other light-colored insects.

CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Mutation of Methyltransferase METTL4 Results in Embryonic Defects in Silkworm Bombyx mori

DNA N6-methyladenine (6mA) has recently been found to play regulatory roles in gene expression that links to various biological processes in eukaryotic species. The functional identification of 6mA methyltransferase will be important for understanding the underlying molecular mechanism of epigenetic 6mA methylation. It has been reported that the methyltransferase METTL4 can catalyze the methylation of 6mA; however, the function of METTL4 remains largely unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of the Bombyx mori homolog METTL4 (BmMETTL4) in silkworm, a lepidopteran model insect. By using CRISPR-Cas9 system, we somatically mutated BmMETTL4 in silkworm individuates and found that disruption of BmMETTL4 caused the developmental defect of late silkworm embryo and subsequent lethality. We performed RNA-Seq and identified that there were 3192 differentially expressed genes in BmMETTL4 mutant including 1743 up-regulated and 1449 down-regulated. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses showed that genes involved in molecular structure, chitin binding, and serine hydrolase activity were significantly affected by BmMETTL4 mutation. We further found that the expression of cuticular protein genes and collagens were clearly decreased while collagenases were highly increased, which had great contributions to the abnormal embryo and decreased hatchability of silkworm. Taken together, these results demonstrated a critical role of 6mA methyltransferase BmMETTL4 in regulating embryonic development of silkworm.

Lessons from Drosophila: Engineering Genetic Sexing Strains with Temperature-Sensitive Lethality for Sterile Insect Technique Applications

A major obstacle of sterile insect technique (SIT) programs is the availability of robust sex-separation systems for conditional removal of females. Sterilized male-only releases improve SIT efficiency and cost-effectiveness for agricultural pests, whereas it is critical to remove female disease-vector pests prior to release as they maintain the capacity to transmit disease. Some of the most successful Genetic Sexing Strains (GSS) reared and released for SIT control were developed for Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata, and carry a temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation that eliminates female but not male embryos when heat treated. The Medfly tsl mutation was generated by random mutagenesis and the genetic mechanism causing this valuable heat sensitive phenotype remains unknown. Conditional temperature sensitive lethal mutations have also been developed using random mutagenesis in the insect model, Drosophila melanogaster, and were used for some of the founding genetic research published in the fields of neuro- and developmental biology. Here we review mutations in select D. melanogaster genes shibire, Notch, RNA polymerase II 215kDa, pale, transformer-2, Dsor1 and CK2α that cause temperature sensitive phenotypes. Precise introduction of orthologous point mutations in pest insect species with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology holds potential to establish GSSs with embryonic lethality to improve and advance SIT pest control.

Advances and Challenges of Using the Sterile Insect Technique for the Management of Pest Lepidoptera

Over the past 30 years, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has become a regular component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs against several major agricultural pests and vectors of severe diseases. The SIT-based programs have been especially successful against dipteran pests. However, the SIT applicability for controlling lepidopteran pests has been challenging, mainly due to their high resistance to the ionizing radiation that is used to induce sterility. Nevertheless, the results of extensive research and currently operating SIT programs show that most problems with the implementation of SIT against pest Lepidoptera have been successfully resolved. Here, we summarize the cytogenetic peculiarities of Lepidoptera that should be considered in the development and application of SIT for a particular pest species. We also discuss the high resistance of Lepidoptera to ionizing radiation, and present the principle of derived technology based on inherited sterility (IS). Furthermore, we present successful SIT/IS applications against five major lepidopteran pests, and summarize the results of research on the quality control of reared and released insects, which is of great importance for their field performance. In the light of new research findings, we also discuss options for the development of genetic sexing strains, which is a challenge to further improve the applicability of SIT/IS against selected lepidopteran pests.

Silkworm genetic sexing through W chromosome-linked, targeted gene integration

Sex separation methods are critical for genetic sexing systems in commercial insect production and sterile insect techniques. Integration of selectable marker genes into a sex chromosome is particularly useful in insects with a heterogametic sex determination system. Here, we describe targeted gene integration of fluorescent marker expression cassettes into a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker region in the W chromosome of the lepidopteran model insect Bombyx mori using transcriptional activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated genome editing. This silkworm strain shows ubiquitous female-specific red or green fluorescence from the embryonic to adult stages. Furthermore, we developed a binary, female-specific, embryonic lethality system combining the TALEN and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology. This system includes one strain with TALEN-mediated, W-specific Cas9 expression driven by the silkworm germ cell-specific nanos (nos) promoter and another strain with U6-derived single-guide RNA (sgRNA) expression targeting transformer 2 (tra2), an essential gene for silkworm embryonic development. Filial 1 (F1) hybrids exhibit complete female-specific lethality during embryonic stages. Our study provides a promising approach for B. mori genetic sexing and sheds light on developing sterile insect techniques in other insect species, especially in lepidopteran pests with WZ/ZZ sex chromosome systems.

Increasing the yield of middle silk gland expression system through transgenic knock-down of endogenous sericin-1

Various genetically modified bioreactor systems have been developed to meet the increasing demands of recombinant proteins. Silk gland of Bombyx mori holds great potential to be a cost-effective bioreactor for commercial-scale production of recombinant proteins. However, the actual yields of proteins obtained from the current silk gland expression systems are too low for the proteins to be dissolved and purified in a large scale. Here, we proposed a strategy that reducing endogenous sericin proteins would increase the expression yield of foreign proteins. Using transgenic RNA interference, we successfully reduced the expression of BmSer1 to 50%. A total 26 transgenic lines expressing Discosoma sp. red fluorescent protein (DsRed) in the middle silk gland (MSG) under the control of BmSer1 promoter were established to analyze the expression of recombinant. qRT-PCR and western blotting showed that in BmSer1 knock-down lines, the expression of DsRed had significantly increased both at mRNA and protein levels. We did an additional analysis of DsRed/BmSer1 distribution in cocoon and effect of DsRed protein accumulation on the silk fiber formation process. This study describes not only a novel method to enhance recombinant protein expression in MSG bioreactor, but also a strategy to optimize other bioreactor systems.

An integrated CRISPR Bombyx mori genome editing system with improved efficiency and expanded target sites

Genome editing enabled unprecedented new opportunities for targeted genomic engineering of a wide variety of organisms ranging from microbes, plants, animals and even human embryos. The serial establishing and rapid applications of genome editing tools significantly accelerated Bombyx mori (B. mori) research during the past years. However, the only CRISPR system in B. mori was the commonly used SpCas9, which only recognize target sites containing NGG PAM sequence. In the present study, we first improve the efficiency of our previous established SpCas9 system by 3.5 folds. The improved high efficiency was also observed at several loci in both BmNs cells and B. mori embryos. Then to expand the target sites, we showed that two newly discovered CRISPR system, SaCas9 and AsCpf1, could also induce highly efficient site-specific genome editing in BmNs cells, and constructed an integrated CRISPR system. Genome-wide analysis of targetable sites was further conducted and showed that the integrated system cover 69,144,399 sites in B. mori genome, and one site could be found in every 6.5 bp. The efficiency and resolution of this CRISPR platform will probably accelerate both fundamental researches and applicable studies in B. mori, and perhaps other insects.

TAL effectors mediate high-efficiency transposition of the piggyBac transposon in silkworm Bombyx mori L

The piggyBac (PB) transposon is one of the most useful transposable elements, and has been successfully used for genetic manipulation in more than a dozen species. However, the efficiency of PB-mediated transposition is still insufficient for many purposes. Here, we present a strategy to enhance transposition efficiency using a fusion of transcription activator-like effector (TALE) and the PB transposase (PBase). The results demonstrate that the TALE-PBase fusion protein which is engineered in this study can produce a significantly improved stable transposition efficiency of up to 63.9%, which is at least 7 times higher than the current transposition efficiency in silkworm. Moreover, the average number of transgene-positive individuals increased up to 5.7-fold, with each positive brood containing an average of 18.1 transgenic silkworms. Finally, we demonstrate that TALE-PBase fusion-mediated PB transposition presents a new insertional preference compared with original insertional preference. This method shows a great potential and value for insertional therapy of many genetic diseases. In conclusion, this new and powerful transposition technology will efficiently promote genetic manipulation studies in both invertebrates and vertebrates.

Transgenic sexing system for genetic control of the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina

The New World screwworm and the Australian sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina are devastating pests of livestock. The larvae of these species feed on the tissue of the living animal and can cause death if untreated. The sterile insect technique or SIT was used to eradicate screwworm from North and Central America. This inspired efforts to develop strains containing complex chromosomal rearrangements for genetic control of L. cuprina in Australia. Although one field trial was promising, the approach was abandoned due to costs and difficulties in mass rearing the strain. As the efficiency of SIT can be significantly increased if only sterile males are released, we have developed transgenic strains of L. cuprina that carry a dominant tetracycline repressible female lethal genetic system. Lethality is due to overexpression of an auto-regulated tetracycline repressible transactivator (tTA) gene and occurs mostly at the pupal stage. Dominant female lethality was achieved by replacing the Drosophila hsp70 core promoter with a Lucilia hsp70 core promoter-5'UTR for tTA overexpression. The strains carry a dominant strongly expressed marker that will facilitate identification in the field. Interestingly, the sexes could be reliably sorted by fluorescence or color from the early first instar larval stage as females that overexpress tTA also overexpress the linked marker gene. Male-only strains of L. cuprina developed in this study could form the basis for a future genetic control program. Moreover, the system developed for L. cuprina should be readily transferrable to other major calliphorid livestock pests including the New and Old World screwworm.

Postintegration stability of the silkworm piggyBac transposon

The piggyBac transposon is the most widely used vector for generating transgenic silkworms. The silkworm genome contains multiple piggyBac-like sequences that might influence the genetic stability of transgenic lines. To investigate the postintegration stability of piggyBac in silkworms, we used random insertion of the piggyBac [3 × p3 EGFP afm] vector to generate a W chromosome-linked transgenic silkworm, named W-T. Results of Southern blot and inverse PCR revealed the insertion of a single copy in the W chromosome of W-T at a standard TTAA insertion site. Investigation of 11 successive generations showed that all W-T females were EGFP positive and all males were EGFP negative; PCR revealed that the insertion site was unchanged in W-T offspring. These results suggested that endogenous piggyBac-like elements did not affect the stability of piggyBac inserted into the silkworm genome.

Highly efficient multiplex targeted mutagenesis and genomic structure variation in Bombyx mori cells using CRISPR/Cas9

Bombyx mori is an economically important insect and a model organism for studying lepidopteran and arthropod biology. Using a highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 system, we showed that this system could mediate highly efficient targeted genome editing of a single gene locus, large chromosomal deletion or inversion, and also multiplex genome editing of 6 genes simultaneously in BmNs cell line derived from B. mori. The simplicity and high efficiency of our system provide unprecedented possibilities for researchers to implement precise and sophisticated manipulation of a chosen B. mori gene in BmNs cells easily in a limited time course, and perhaps new opportunities for functional genomics of B. mori and other lepidopteran insects.