Disruption of Zfh3 abolishes mulberry-specific monophagy in silkworm larvae  

作　　者：Yunlong Zou Wentao Wu Tianfu Luo Yuxia Tang Hai Hu Aijun Ye Lifeng Xu Fangyin Dai Xiaoling Tong 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects,Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,College of Sericulture,Textile and Biomass Sciences,Southwest University,Chongqing,China

出　　处：《Insect Science》2024年第5期1397-1411,共15页昆虫科学（英文版）

基　　金：This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.32202745 and U20A2058);Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing,China(Grant No.cstc2021jcyj-cxttx0005);Funds of China Agriculture Research System of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs(No.CARS-18)。

摘　　要：Feeding behavior is critical for insect survival and fitness.Most researchers have explored the molecular basis of feeding behaviors by identifying and elucidating the function of olfactory receptors(ORs)and gustatory receptors(GRs).Other types of genes,such as transcription factors,have rarely been investigated,and little is known about their potential roles.The silkworm(Bombyx mori)is a well-studied monophagic insect which primarily feeds on mulberry leaves,but the genetic basis of its monophagy is still not un-derstood.In this report,we focused on a transcription factor encoded by the Zfh3 gene,which is highly expressed in the silkworm central and peripheral nervous systems,in-cluding brain,antenna,and maxilla.To investigate its function,Zfh3 was abrogated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein 9(Cas9)mutagenesis.Since Zfh3 knockout homozygotes are not viable,we stud-ied feeding behavior in heterozygotes,and found that disruption of Zfh3 affects both gus-tation and olfaction.Mutant larvae lose preference for mulberry leaves,acquire the ability to consume an expanded range of diets,and exhibit improved adaptation to the Mo artifi-cial diet,which contains no mulberry leaves.These results provide the first demonstration that a transcription factor modulates feeding behaviors in an insect.

关 键 词：chemosensory system feeding behavior GUSTATION OLFACTION SILKWORM Zfh3 

分 类 号：S881.2[农业科学—特种经济动物饲养]