Genetic operation is used to improve the resistance of silkworms to nuclear polykernel virus (BmNPV).

On January 25, 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 paper "Transgenic CRISPR/Cas9-mediated viral gene targeting for antiviral therapy of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus "BmNPV".
the study reported the use of genetic methods to improve the resistance of silkworms to nuclear polykernel virus (BmNPV).
virus disease is the most common type of silkworm disease in silkworm production, the annual loss of about 80% of the total loss, of which the silkworm nucleovirus (BmNPV) is the most serious harm.
At present, in the strategy of preventing and controlling BmNPV, screening resistant varieties through traditional selection methods is faced with the limitations of long cycle, poor orientation and improved resistance, and it is difficult to take into account the limitations of economic conditions;
the study combined genetically modified with CRISPR/Cas9 technology to build an antiviral system targeting BmNPV genomic DNA in home silkworms.
, the ability of silkworms to resist BmNPV has been significantly improved.
This method does not need to target specific genes, but uses Cas9/sgRNA to accurately and efficiently cut DNA, for BmNPV genomic DNA to achieve multiple fractures or large fragment sequence deletion, making it difficult to fully repair and normal replication, fundamentally cut off the virus replication and transcription of the template, so as to achieve the removal of the virus in the silkworm body and prevent the virus replication in the home silkworm body effect.
antiviral strategies based on genetically modified and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies have enabled silkworms to gain the ability to stabilize genetically stable virus removal and are expected to play an active role in silkworm production.
Chen Shuqing, Ph.D. student, and Hou Chengxiang, an associate researcher at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, are co-authors.
project was supported by the Strategic Pilot B Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the "973" Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Fund Commission.
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