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Bui M, Dalla Benetta E, Dong Y, Zhao Y, Yang T, Li M, Antoshechkin IA, Buchman A, Bottino-Rojas V, James AA, Perry MW, Dimopoulos G, Akbari OS. CRISPR mediated transactivation in the human disease vector Aedes aegypti. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1010842. [PMID: 36656895 PMCID: PMC9888728 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
As a major insect vector of multiple arboviruses, Aedes aegypti poses a significant global health and economic burden. A number of genetic engineering tools have been exploited to understand its biology with the goal of reducing its impact. For example, current tools have focused on knocking-down RNA transcripts, inducing loss-of-function mutations, or expressing exogenous DNA. However, methods for transactivating endogenous genes have not been developed. To fill this void, here we developed a CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) system in Ae. aegypti to transactivate target gene expression. Gene expression is activated through pairing a catalytically-inactive ('dead') Cas9 (dCas9) with a highly-active tripartite activator, VP64-p65-Rta (VPR) and synthetic guide RNA (sgRNA) complementary to a user defined target-gene promoter region. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that engineered Ae. aegypti mosquitoes harboring a binary CRISPRa system can be used to effectively overexpress two developmental genes, even-skipped (eve) and hedgehog (hh), resulting in observable morphological phenotypes. We also used this system to overexpress the positive transcriptional regulator of the Toll immune pathway known as AaRel1, which resulted in a significant suppression of dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) titers in the mosquito. This system provides a versatile tool for research pathways not previously possible in Ae. aegypti, such as programmed overexpression of endogenous genes, and may aid in gene characterization studies and the development of innovative vector control tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Bui
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Elena Dalla Benetta
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Yuemei Dong
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Yunchong Zhao
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Ting Yang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Ming Li
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Igor A. Antoshechkin
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Anna Buchman
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Vanessa Bottino-Rojas
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Anthony A. James
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Michael W. Perry
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - George Dimopoulos
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Omar S. Akbari
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
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Yuan JW, Song HX, Chang YW, Yang F, Du YZ. Transcriptome analysis and screening of putative sex-determining genes in the invasive pest, Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY. PART D, GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS 2022; 43:101008. [PMID: 35752128 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2022.101008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The invasive insect pest, Frankliniella occidentalis, is a well-known vector that transmits a variety of ornamental and vegetable viruses. The mechanistic basis of sex determination in F. occidentalis is not well understood, and this hinders our ability to deploy sterile insect technology as an integrated pest management strategy. In this study, six cDNA libraries from female and male adults of F. occidentalis (three biological replicates each) were constructed and transcriptomes were sequenced. A total of 6000 differentially-expressed genes were identified in the two sexes including 2355 up- and 3645 down-regulated genes. A total of 149 sex-related genes were identified based on GO enrichment data and included transformer-2 (tra2), fruitless (fru), male-specific lethal (msl) and sex lethal (sxl); several of these exhibited sex-specific and/or sex-biased expression in F. occidentalis. This study contributes to our understanding of the sex-determined cascade in F. occidentalis and other members of the Thysanoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Wen Yuan
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Institute of Applied Entomology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Hai-Xia Song
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Institute of Applied Entomology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Ya-Wen Chang
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Institute of Applied Entomology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Fei Yang
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Yu-Zhou Du
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Institute of Applied Entomology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
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Abstract
AbstractAcute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical symptom, which is mainly manifested by elevated serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels. When AKI is not repaired in time, the patient is prone to develop chronic kidney disease (CKD). The kidney is composed of more than 30 different cells, and its structure is complex. It is extremely challenging to understand the lineage relationships and cell fate of these cells in the process of kidney injury and regeneration. Since the 20th century, lineage tracing technology has provided an important mean for studying organ development, tissue damage repair, and the differentiation and fate of single cells. However, traditional lineage tracing methods rely on sacrificing animals to make tissue slices and then take snapshots with conventional imaging tools to obtain interesting information. This method cannot achieve dynamic and continuous monitoring of cell actions on living animals. As a kind of intravital microscopy (IVM), two-photon microscopy (TPM) has successfully solved the above problems. Because TPM has the ability to penetrate deep tissues and can achieve imaging at the single cell level, lineage tracing technology with TPM is gradually becoming popular. In this review, we provided the key technical elements of lineage tracing, and how to use intravital imaging technology to visualize and quantify the fate of renal cells.
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Gallichotte EN, Dobos KM, Ebel GD, Hagedorn M, Rasgon JL, Richardson JH, Stedman TT, Barfield JP. Towards a method for cryopreservation of mosquito vectors of human pathogens. Cryobiology 2021; 99:1-10. [PMID: 33556359 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2021.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Mosquito-borne diseases are responsible for millions of human deaths every year, posing a massive burden on global public health. Mosquitoes transmit a variety of bacteria, parasites and viruses. Mosquito control efforts such as insecticide spraying can reduce mosquito populations, but they must be sustained in order to have long term impacts, can result in the evolution of insecticide resistance, are costly, and can have adverse human and environmental effects. Technological advances have allowed genetic manipulation of mosquitoes, including generation of those that are still susceptible to insecticides, which has greatly increased the number of mosquito strains and lines available to the scientific research community. This generates an associated challenge, because rearing and maintaining unique mosquito lines requires time, money and facilities, and long-term maintenance can lead to adaptation to specific laboratory conditions, resulting in mosquito lines that are distinct from their wild-type counterparts. Additionally, continuous rearing of transgenic lines can lead to loss of genetic markers, genes and/or phenotypes. Cryopreservation of valuable mosquito lines could help circumvent these limitations and allow researchers to reduce the cost of rearing multiple lines simultaneously, maintain low passage number transgenic mosquitoes, and bank lines not currently being used. Additionally, mosquito cryopreservation could allow researchers to access the same mosquito lines, limiting the impact of unique laboratory or field conditions. Successful cryopreservation of mosquitoes would expand the field of mosquito research and could ultimately lead to advances that would reduce the burden of mosquito-borne diseases, possibly through rear-and-release strategies to overcome mosquito insecticide resistance. Cryopreservation techniques have been developed for some insect groups, including but not limited to fruit flies, silkworms and other moth species, and honeybees. Recent advances within the cryopreservation field, along with success with other insects suggest that cryopreservation of mosquitoes may be a feasible method for preserving valuable scientific and public health resources. In this review, we will provide an overview of basic mosquito biology, the current state of and advances within insect cryopreservation, and a proposed approach toward cryopreservation of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily N Gallichotte
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Karen M Dobos
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gregory D Ebel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Mary Hagedorn
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, VA, USA; Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | - Jason L Rasgon
- Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Jennifer P Barfield
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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Lutrat C, Giesbrecht D, Marois E, Whyard S, Baldet T, Bouyer J. Sex Sorting for Pest Control: It's Raining Men! Trends Parasitol 2019; 35:649-662. [PMID: 31255488 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In the pursuit of better pest- and vector-control strategies, attention returns to an old proven technology, the sterile insect technique (SIT) and related insect population-suppression methods. A major obstacle for any of these approaches that involves the release of sterile males is the separation of males from females during the mass rearing stage, in order to improve the cost-efficiency of these methods and to prevent the release of biting and disease-vectoring females. This review describes recent sex-sorting developments in dipteran flies with an emphasis on assessing the suitability of these methods for large-scale rearing of male vectors for mass release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Célia Lutrat
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, F-34398, Montpellier, France; ASTRE, CIRAD, INRA, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - David Giesbrecht
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Eric Marois
- CNRS UPR9022, INSERM U963, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Steve Whyard
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Thierry Baldet
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, F-34398, Montpellier, France; ASTRE, CIRAD, INRA, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérémy Bouyer
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, F-34398, Montpellier, France; Insect Pest Control, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria. @cirad.fr
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Bourtzis K, Tu ZJ. Joint FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Project on "Exploring genetic, molecular, mechanical and behavioural methods of sex separation in mosquitoes" - an introduction. Parasit Vectors 2018; 11:653. [PMID: 30583742 PMCID: PMC6304754 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-3206-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kostas Bourtzis
- Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Vienna, Austria
| | - Zhijian Jake Tu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
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