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Updated: Sep 3, 2025

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
Published on: August 22, 2013
Masculinizer and Doublesex as Key Factors Regulate Sexual Dimorphism in Ostrinia furnacalis
Honglun Bi1, Xiaowei Li2, Xia Xu2
1State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
Abstract:
Sex determination is an important and traditional biological process. In Lepidoptera, Masculinizer (Masc) and doublesex (dsx) are the essential genes for sex determination and play critical roles in sexual differentiation and development. The functions of Masc and dsx have been characterized in several model insect species. However, the molecular mechanism and sex determination functions of Masc and dsx in Ostrinia furnacalis, an agricultural pest, are still unknown. Here, we successfully used the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system to knock out OfMasc and Ofdsx. Mutation of OfMasc induced male external genital defects and sterility. Disruptions of the Ofdsx common region caused sex-specific defects in the external genitals and adult sterility. In addition, we found that OfMasc and Ofdsx can regulate the pigmentation genes that control wing pigmentation patterns. These results demonstrate that OfMasc and Ofdsx play key roles in the sex determination of O. furnacalis, and suggest novel genetic control approaches for the management of pests, including O. furnacalis.
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