Scientists develop 'super fruit flies' that are resistant to toxic plants

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, gave fruit fly larvae the characteristics of the black-skinned butterfly, a butterfly that feeds on the marigold, and their efforts are believed to be the first time humans have genetically modified an animal to survive in a completely different environment, as well as food and predators.
, according to foreign media reports, scientists have made significant progress in gene editing, and they have developed a "super fruit fly" in the laboratory that is resistant to toxic plants.
in the natural environment, fruit flies die if they eat the marion , a sticky, juice-filled plant, and then the body of the fruit fly is swallowed by hungry frogs and birds, and now scientists have edited the fruit fly's DNA so that they don't die when frogs and birds eat it.
scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, gave fruit fly larvae the characteristics of the black-skinned butterfly, a butterfly that feeds on the malion, in an effort that was seen as the first time humans had genetically modified an animal to survive in a completely different environment, as well as food and predators.
in the natural environment, fruit flies die if they eat malions(a sticky, juice-filled plant), after which the carcasses of fruit flies are swallowed by hungry frogs and birds, and now scientists have edited the DNA of fruit flies to allow them to eat poisonous maribars without dying, vomiting them when frogs and birds devour them. The team, led by professor Noah Whiteman,
, used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to edit the fruit fly's DNA, and they edited one of the fruit fly's genes three times, making it consistent with the properties of the black-veined butterfly, being able to eat the maribar, and produce resistance to the plant toxin.
these mutations allow fruit flies to eat toxic plants that other insects cannot eat, which is why the black-skinned butterfly thrives in North and Central America, and experiments have shown that "super fruit flies" with triple-gene mutations are 1,000 times less sensitive to marigold toxins than wild fruit flies. "All we did was do three CRISPR gene editing, which created a super fruit fly, " says Professor
Whiteman.
"But the most surprising thing for me is that we were able to test the evolutionary hypothesis in a way that never existed outside the cell line, and if it wasn't used to make genetic mutations with CRISPR, fruit flies wouldn't have a particular antitoxicity."
However, the resistance of the black-skinned butterfly to the toxicity of the marleys comes at a price, as it will take longer for the butterfly to recover from its injury.
Whiteman says this suggests that genetic mutations have a price, such as the recovery of the nervous system, but the benefits of avoiding predator attacks in this way are self-evident, and that people often choose the latter if they are faced with the choice of death and acceptance of toxins, even if the process comes at a price.
the latest study is now published in the journal Nature. How does
CRISPR gene editing technology work? CRISPR gene editing is increasingly being used in health research to change body components, and at a basic level, CRISPR technology is an operation to cut and paste DNA.
technically known as CRISPR-Cas9, the process involves sending new strands and enzymes of DNA, gene editing in experimental organisms, and in humans, genes are blueprints for many of the body's processes and characteristics, which determine everything from eye and hair color to whether people have cancer.
components of CRISPR-Cas9, the DNA sequence and the enzymes needed for implantation, usually enter the body through a harmless virus as a vector, so that scientists can control their range of activity.
Cas9 enzyme can cut off the DNA chain, effectively shut down a gene, or remove DNA fragments, replaced by CRISPRs, a new fragment implanted into the body's genes, with a pre-set effect.
scientists looking for clues to the evolution of wild African fruit flies, fruit flies are likely to be one of the most studied creatures on Earth.
in many kitchens, fruit flies are also common occupants.
but how do they live in the wild? Surprisingly, little is known about this.
researchers recently reported their study of fruit flies living in Zimbabwe's pristine forests in current biology, providing new clues about how fruit flies live in the wild.
story revolves around African Marula fruit, which has a thick peel and sugary pulp, much like the fruit fly's favorite citrus.
the discovery could also help explain how fruit flies were initially domesticated. Marcus Stensmyr, of Lund University in Sweden,
, said: "The flies in the kitchen fruit tray are the direct ancestors of flies living around the Marula tree in the remote forest.
about 10,000 years ago, the flies lived with their human neighbors, but their descendants subsequently colonized the world.
that's cool!" Prior to this new study, fruit flies had never been observed in undisturbed wilderness.
therefore, the team, led by Stensmyr and first author Suzan Mansourian, plans to look for the home of this important pattern of creatures of African ancestors.
researchers used flie traps to find wild flies in forests in south-central Africa.
traps near the Marula tree were soon filled with fruit flies.
but the fliers placed elsewhere in the forest barely captured the fruit flies.
researchers also found that fruit flies here prefer Marulago to citrus.
but in other parts of the world, citrus is a favorite of fruit flies.
in fact, Marulago is important not only to fruit flies, but also to the San people who live in the area.
archaeologists excavated caves in the San tribe's late Pleistocene to the early Pleistocene and found a large number of walnut-sized Marula fossils containing seeds of fruit.
researchers say it is clear that the San people spend quite a bit of time collecting and processing marulagos, which are their staple of the year.
researchers suggest this may explain how fruit flies were initially attracted to the smell of Marulago and lived around humans.
once in the cave, the flies are sure to be more likely to escape predators and bad weather.
researchers believe that over time, flies become more adaptable, more willing to enter dark environments, and become more resistant to ethanol.
Source: Sina Science China Science Daily.