Journal
INSECT SCIENCE
Volume 30, Issue 4, Pages 901-911Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13179
Keywords
CRISPR; Cas9; Hermetia illucens; intersex; sex determination
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Understanding the mechanism of sex determination in insects is important for manipulating pest populations and breeding economically valuable insects. In this study, the intersex gene homolog in the black soldier fly, which is an important insect for waste conversion, was identified and characterized. Disruption of this gene resulted in female-specific defects in external genitalia and undersized ovaries. This study enhances our understanding of sex determination in insects and has implications for breeding the black soldier fly.
Sex-determination pathways are extremely diverse. Understanding the mechanism of sex determination in insects is important for genetic manipulation of the pest population and for breeding of economically valuable insects. Although sex determination has been well characterized in the model species Drosophila melanogaster, little is known about this pathway in Stratiomyidae. In the present study, we first identified the Drosophila intersex (ix) homolog in Hermetia illucens, also known as the black soldier fly, which belongs to the Stratiomyidae family and which is an important insect for the conversion of various organic wastes. Phylogenetic analyses and multiple sequence alignment revealed that Hiix is conserved compared with Drosophila. We showed that Hiix is highly expressed in internal genitalia. Disruption of the Hiix gene using CRISPR/Cas9 resulted in female-specific defects in external genitalia and abnormal and undersized ovaries. Taken together, our study furthers our understanding of sex determination in insects and could facilitate breeding of H. illucens.
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