New insight into the mechanism underlying the silk gland biological process by knocking out fibroin heavy chain in the silkworm.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exploring whether and how mutation of silk protein contributes to subsequent re-allocation of nitrogen, and impacts on the timing of silk gland degradation, is important to understand silk gland biology. Rapid development and wide application of genome editing approach in the silkworm provide us an opportunity to address these issues.

Results

Using CRISPR/Cas9 system, we successfully performed genome editing of Bmfib-H. The loss-of-function mutations caused naked pupa and thin cocoon mutant phenotypes. Compared with the wild type, the posterior silk gland of mutant showed obviously degraded into fragments in advance of programmed cell death of silk gland cells. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of silk gland at the fourth day of the fifth instar larval stage(L5D

SUBMITTER: Cui Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5870212 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature