BmPSI, a key cofactor in male sex decisions.

On January 19th, the Huang Yongping Research Group and the Tan Anjiang Research Group of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology of the Shanghai Institute of Life Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published their research papers in the international academic journal PLOS Genetics, Bombyx mori P-element Somatic Resor (BmPSI) Is a Key Auxiliary Factor for Silkworm Male Sex Decision.
study reported on BmPSI, a key cofactor in the sex decisions of cocoon males.
a highly diverse gender-determining mechanism for different insect groups.
silkworms are model insects that study the genetic and development of scaly fin insects, their sexual chromosome system is ZZ/ZW type, female individuals are heterogeneian matching type ZW, male individuals are zz of the same type of matching subtype, in the female individual W chromosome has a female sex determinant Fem (female-enriched PIWIWI-interacting RNA).
Fem is a piRNA that controls the sex-specific shearing of Bmdsx by targeting the downstream gene BmMasc.
the primary signal of female sex decision has been identified, the gene regulation network of silkworm sex decision has not been further clarified.
The study used genetic techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 to systematically remove a series of ogenous genes associated with gender decision and differentiation in silkworms, investigate the sexual two-state characteristics of these mutants, and analyze the interactions between these genes at the molecular level.
results showed that in BmPSI mutants, the gender development and differentiation of female individuals were not affected, while in male individuals, the mutation of BmPSI led to the emergence of female characteristics, and further analysis found that BmPSI can regulate the shearing of Bmdsx and the transcriptional expression of BmMasc, thus determining the important role of BmPSI in the sex decision and differentiation of male silkworms at home.
this study provides genetic and esoteric evidence for the functional study of genes associated with the sex-determining path of silkworms, and provides further theoretical basis for further elo-esoteric understanding of the sex-determining and regulatory mechanisms of insects.
the work was mainly done by Xu Jun, a doctoral student.
project has been supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Pilot B Project and the National Natural Fund Committee.
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