Optogenetics-based approach for understanding postembryonic development in insects

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K19213
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 39:Agricultural and environmental biology and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Ohde Takahiro 京都大学, 農学研究科, 助教 (60742111)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 光遺伝学 / 後胚発生 / 遺伝子組換え / 昆虫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I aimed to develop an optogenetical system for manipulating spatiotemporal gene expression in the hemimetabolous insect model, the two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. I had a technical issue for introducing exogenous gene cassettes to Gryllus genome, but successfully overcome it by applying an improved transposase for transgenesis. This technique increased germ transformation efficiency up to 6-fold than that in a previous report. I could successfully generate cricket strains that are needed for testing optogenetics in Gryllus, and attempted to induce exogenous gene expression. It has so far not succeeded to detect the signal, and results suggest that further optimization of exogenous gene cassette will improve this system.

Free Research Field

進化発生学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来多くの昆虫における遺伝子組換え効率は非常に低く、実用性が低かった。本研究は、不完全変態昆虫個体において改良型のトランスポゾン転移酵素を用いた遺伝子組換えが非常に高い効率で生じることを初めて示した。また、非モデル昆虫における光遺伝学技術の利用に挑戦し、課題とその解決策を明らかにできた。今後これらの技術を用いることで、モデル生物に限らず、多様な昆虫種における学術および応用の進展が期待される。