title: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of the white and Sex lethal loci in the invasive pest, Drosophila suzukii.
abstract: Drosophila suzukii (commonly called spotted wing Drosophila) is an invasive pest of soft-skinned fruit (e.g. blueberries, strawberries). A high quality reference genome sequence is available but functional genomic tools, such as used in Drosophila melanogaster, remain to be developed. In this study we have used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to introduce site-specific mutations in the D. suzukii white (w) and Sex lethal (Sxl) genes. Hemizygous males with w mutations develop white eyes and the mutant genes are transmissible to the next generation. Somatic mosaic females that carry mutations in the Sxl gene develop abnormal genitalia and reproductive tissue. The D. suzukii Sxl gene could be an excellent target for a Cas9-mediated gene drive to suppress populations of this highly destructive pest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7613, Raleigh 27695-7613, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7613, Raleigh 27695-7613, NC, USA. Electronic address: mjscott3@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Maxwell J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems / Q000235:genetics*; D064112:Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005127:Eye Color / Q000235:genetics*; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000379:methods; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C067777:Sxl protein, Drosophila; C059254:w protein, Drosophila
keywords: CRISPR; Cas9; Drosophila suzukii; Sex-lethal; white