Identification of genes for engineering the male germline of Aedes aegypti and Ceratitis capitata

Sutton, E. R., Yu, Y., Shimeld, S. M., White-Cooper, H. and Alphey, L. (2016) Identification of genes for engineering the male germline of Aedes aegypti and Ceratitis capitata. BMC Genomics, 17, 948. (doi: 10.1186/s12864-016-3280-3) (PMID:27871244) (PMCID:PMC5117610)

Abstract

Background: Synthetic biology approaches are promising new strategies for control of pest insects that transmit disease and cause agricultural damage. These strategies require characterised modular components that can direct appropriate expression of effector sequences, with components conserved across species being particularly useful. The goal of this study was to identify genes from which new potential components could be derived for manipulation of the male germline in two major pest species, the mosquito Aedes aegypti and the tephritid fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. Results: Using RNA-seq data from staged testis samples, we identified several candidate genes with testis-specific expression and suitable expression timing for use of their regulatory regions in synthetic control constructs. We also developed a novel computational pipeline to identify candidate genes with testis-specific splicing from this data; use of alternative splicing is another method for restricting expression in synthetic systems. Some of the genes identified display testis-specific expression or splicing that is conserved across species; these are particularly promising candidates for construct development. Conclusions: In this study we have identified a set of genes with testis-specific expression or splicing. In addition to their interest from a basic biology perspective, these findings provide a basis from which to develop synthetic systems to control important pest insects via manipulation of the male germline.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by grant BB/L004445/1 from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). ERS was supported by a BBSRC Industrial CASE studentship BB/J012696/1. LA is supported by core funding from the BBSRC to the Pirbright Institute (BBS/E/I/00001892).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Yu, Dr Yachuan
• Authors: Sutton, E. R., Yu, Y., Shimeld, S. M., White-Cooper, H., and Alphey, L.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: BMC Genomics
• Publisher: Biomed Central
• ISSN: 1471-2164
• ISSN (Online): 1471-2164
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 The Authors
• First Published: First published in BMC Genomics 17: 948
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License