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Harmonia axyridis belongs to the family Coccinellidae and has many body colors, from black with red spots to red with black spots. It is generally carnivorous and feeds on various types of aphids, Psyllidae, Demodex, and others. Adults also feed on nectar and young tissues of certain plants when food is scarce. Harmonia axyridis is an essential predatory natural enemy insect in agriculture and forestry. By utilizing its swarming properties, collecting overwintering Harmonia axyridis at overwintering sites, and artificially relocating them to various types of aphid sites for release, it can control various aphids.
CRISPR/Cas9 technology is a very powerful genome editing tool used for functional genomics studies in many insect species by targeting gene mutations. Lifeasible has established a CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing service platform for Harmonia axyridis, an essential natural enemy for biological control. This will allow customers to do further gene function studies and facilitate the generation of specialized strains of the predatory Harmonia axyridis.
| Editable genes | Relevant traits exhibited after editing |
| nAChRα6 | The nAChR6 gene was knocked out in Harmonia axyridis to render it resistant to spinosad. |
| Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) | Mutants were generated in Harmonia axyridis using CRISPR/Cas9 to target DDC, a key gene in melanin synthesis. We could inject sgRNA of DDC and Cas9 proteins into eggs to induce insertion and indels mutants in Harmonia axyridis. Mutations in the DDC gene showed a melanin-deficient phenotype and increased total predation in larval, pupal, and adult stages. |
| lac2, scarlet | Changes in insect eye color are another common pigmentation-related phenotype in functional studies. We successfully targeted lac2 and scarlet in Harmonia axyridis using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and generated mutant strains.
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Harmonia axyridis has significant predatory ability on a wide range of pests. To improve the effectiveness of released predatory Harmonia axyridis in controlling pests in the field under unfavorable environmental conditions such as low temperature, high temperature, and drought, special Harmonia axyridis lines are needed for practical applications. Therefore, it is necessary for you to use gene editing technology in Harmonia axyridis through Lifeasible to improve its tolerance to unfavorable environments or to obtain lines with high predation efficiency. Please feel free to contact us to inform us of your research needs, and we will provide you with a detailed proposal.
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