Researchers Test CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing on Brown Planthopper

The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens), or BPH, is one of the most destructive insect pests in Asia, demonstrating high fertility and causing huge crop losses in rice yield. However, genomic studies on BPH are seriously hampered by lack of genetic tools. The team of Wen-Hua Xue from Zhejiang University in China tried to apply CRISPR-Cas9 on BPH by targeting two eye pigmentation genes to generate mutations.

The team found that injection of a single guide RNA targeting the cinnabar gene (Nl-cn) into BPH eggs induced mutations in the founder generation (G₀). These mutations were then inherited by the following generation, leading to bright red compound eyes and ocelli. Another gene, BPH white gene (Nl-w), was also targeted by a separate CRISPR sgRNA. This generated a high mutant rate of up to 27.3%, resulting in mosaic eyes consisting of white and lightly pigmented ommatidia in both G₀ and G₁individuals.

These results show that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can be done on a hemipteran insect, offering a valuable tool for pest management of BPH.

For more information, read the article in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.