CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis against sex pheromone biosynthesis leads to loss of female attractiveness in Spodoptera exigua, an insect pestt

PLoS One. 2021 Nov 17;16(11):e0259322. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259322. eCollection 2021.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Insect Control
  • Sex Attractants*
  • Spodoptera*

Substances

  • Sex Attractants

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (IPET) through Exporting Promotion Technology Development Program funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (321100-3), Republic of Korea. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.