Single-minded regulates larval energy homeostasis in the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda.
Li M, Li M, Cai G, Dong Y, Guo Y
Crispr
Fall armyworms chew through corn, sorghum, and rice fields across six continents every season, and this newly identified genetic weak spot in the caterpillar's fat-burning machinery could lead to precision pesticides that target the pest without harming the crops or beneficial insects around them.
Fall armyworms are highly destructive caterpillars that attack staple food crops worldwide. Researchers found a master-switch gene that controls how these caterpillars manage their energy — essentially how they burn fat and sugar to grow. When scientists switched this gene off using CRISPR gene-editing, the caterpillars got fat in an unhealthy way, stopped growing properly, and struggled to survive, revealing a critical vulnerability that future pest-control strategies could exploit.
Key Findings
CRISPR-disabled SfSim mutant larvae showed pronounced growth retardation and reduced viability, confirming the gene is essential for larval survival.
Loss of SfSim caused excessive triglyceride accumulation driven by runaway fat synthesis (lipogenesis) combined with a failure to break fat down (lipolysis).
SfSim mutants showed significantly reduced expression of adipokinetic hormone (AKH) and its receptor — hormones analogous to insect glucagon that mobilize energy reserves.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered that a gene called Single-minded (Sim) controls energy metabolism and fat storage in fall armyworms, one of the world's most destructive crop pests. Disabling this gene using CRISPR caused larvae to grow poorly and accumulate unhealthy levels of fat, pointing to a promising new target for pest control.
Abstract Preview
The Single-minded (Sim) gene encodes a conserved bHLH-PAS transcription factor that plays a critical role in neurodevelopment, yet its function in regulating insect growth and metabolism remains la...
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