Skip to main content
Entomology 2021 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
In-Person
In-Person
Livestream
Livestream
On-Demand
On-Demand
Student Competition
Student Competition
Video Chat
Video Chat
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Poster Icons
Student Competition
Student Competition
In-Person
In-Person
Poster
Poster
On-Demand
On-Demand
Video Q&A ViewAttendees 3

Member Symposium

Adapting Stored Product Entomology for New Research Challenges: Advancements in Functional Genomics, Chemical Ecology, and Beyond On-Demand Presentations

Functional genomics tools for Plodia mealmoths: Genome editing and transgenesis

On-Demand
On-Demand

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Christa Heryanto

    Graduate Student
    The George Washington University, District of Columbia

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Anyi Mazo-Vargas

    Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
    The George Washington University
    Washington, District of Columbia

  • Arnaud Martin

    Assistant Professor
    The George Washington University
    Washington, District of Columbia

The Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella is a worldwide pest of stored food products and a promising laboratory model system for the study of lepidopteran functional genomics. In this study, we identified a 1 bp frameshift mutation in the white exon 5 causing the recessive-white phenotype. CRISPR Non-homologous End Joining mutagenesis of wild-type white replicates this phenotype with high rates of somatic bi-allelic knockout. G0 individuals with mutant clones on both eyes transmitted a mutant allele in 100% of their progeny, making white an ideal marker for co-conversion when targeting other genes. We used CRISPR editing with homology-directed repair (HDR) to rescue this mutation to a wild-type state. Repaired alleles showed practical rates of germline transmission in backcrossed G1 individuals, demonstrating the potential of the technique for precise genome editing. Plodia is the third lepidopteran with in-vivo evidence of efficient CRISPR HDR editing and offers a promising avenue for research in this taxon due to its lab-ready features and egg injectability.