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Shi L, Liu X, Liu H, Shan S, Shen S, Bai M, Lan H, Khashaveh A, Gu S, Zhang Y. Knockout of the delta11-desaturase SfruDES1 disrupts sex pheromone biosynthesis, mating and oviposition in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 200:105832. [PMID: 38582595 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2024.105832] [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: 11/19/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Moth insects rely on sex pheromones for long distance attraction and searching for sex partners. The biosynthesis of moth sex pheromones involves the catalytic action of multiple enzymes, with desaturases playing a crucial role in the process of carbon chain desaturation. However, the specific desaturases involved in sex pheromone biosynthesis in fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, have not been clarified. In this study, a Δ11 desaturase (SfruDES1) gene in FAW was knocked out using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system. A homozygous mutant of SfruDES1 was obtained through genetic crosses. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis results showed that the three main sex pheromone components (Z7-12:Ac, Z9-14:Ac, and Z11-16:Ac) and the three minor components (Z9-14:Ald, E11-14:Ac and Z11-14:Ac) of FAW were not detected in homozygous mutant females compared to the wild type. Furthermore, behavioral assay demonstrated that the loss of SfruDES1 resulted in a significant reduction in the attractiveness of females to males, along with disruptions in mating behavior and oviposition. Additionally, in a heterologous expression system, recombinant SfruDES1 could introduce a cis double bond at the Δ11 position in palmitic acid, which resulted in the changes in components of the synthesized products. These findings suggest desaturase plays a key role in the biosynthesis of sex pheromones, and knockout of the SfruDES1 disrupts sex pheromone biosynthesis and mating behavior in FAW. The SfruDES1 could serve as tool to develop a control method for S. frugiperda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longfei Shi
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaohe Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Huaijing Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Shuang Shan
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Shi Shen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; College of Agronomy & Reseources and Enviroment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Minghui Bai
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; College of Plant Science &Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hao Lan
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Adel Khashaveh
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Shaohua Gu
- College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yongjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
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Ashok K, Bhargava CN, Asokan R, Pradeep C, Kennedy JS, Manamohan M, Rai A. CRISPR/Cas9 mediated mutagenesis of the major sex pheromone gene, acyl-CoA delta-9 desaturase (DES9) in Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:126557. [PMID: 37657567 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
The Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda is a significant global pest causing serious yield loss on several staple crops. In this regard, this pest defies several management approaches based on chemicals, Bt transgenics etc., requiring effective alternatives. Recently CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genome editing has opened up newer avenues to establish functions of various target genes before employing them for further application. The virgin female moths of S. frugiperda emit sex pheromones to draw conspecific males. Therefore, we have edited the key pheromone synthesis gene, fatty acyl-CoA Delta-9 desaturase (DES9) of the Indian population of S. frugiperda. In order to achieve a larger deletion of the DES9, we have designed two single guide RNA (sgRNA) in sense and antisense direction targeting the first exon instead of a single guide RNA. The sgRNA caused site-specific knockout with a larger deletion which impacted the mating. Crossing studies between wild male and mutant female resulted in no fecundity, while fecundity was normal when mutant male crossed with the wild female. This indicates that mating disruption is stronger in females where DES9 is mutated. The current work is the first of its kind to show that DES9 gene editing impacted the likelihood of mating in S. frugiperda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karuppannasamy Ashok
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru 560089, Karnataka, India; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641003, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Chikmagalur Nagaraja Bhargava
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru 560089, Karnataka, India; University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru 560065, Karnataka, India
| | - Ramasamy Asokan
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru 560089, Karnataka, India.
| | - Chalapathi Pradeep
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru 560089, Karnataka, India; University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru 560065, Karnataka, India
| | | | | | - Anil Rai
- ICAR - Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
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Zhang BY, Li FQ, Qu C, Dewer Y, Fu YJ, Luo C. Identification and Expression Profiles of Candidate Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis Genes by the Transcriptome Analysis of Sex Pheromone Glands in Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera exigua. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:7009-7019. [PMID: 37126455 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Like many insects, females of the Noctuid moth Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera exigua release chemical signals to attract males from a long distance for successful mating. In this study, 98 and 86 genes related to the sex pheromone biosynthesis of S. litura and S. exigua were identified. The tissue expression profiles of highly expressed genes in sex pheromone glands (PGs) were further examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results displayed that only SlitDes5 and SexiDes5 gene were specifically and significantly overexpressed in the PGs of S. litura and S. exigua. The functional study of SlitDes5 gene showed that RNA interference reduced its expression level by 49.42%. In addition, the content of the sex pheromones of S. litura, Z9E11-14:OAc, Z9E12-14:OAc, E11-14:OAc, and Z9-14:OAc, decreased by 41.98% on average. Our findings provide a basis for better understanding the key genes that affect the biosynthesis of sex pheromones and for determining potential gene targets for pest control strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bi-Yun Zhang
- Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
| | - Feng-Qi Li
- Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
| | - Cheng Qu
- Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
| | - Youssef Dewer
- Phytotoxicity Research Department, Central Agricultural Pesticide Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki 12618, Egypt
| | - Yue-Jun Fu
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Chen Luo
- Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
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