Compton Austin, Tu Zhijian
Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Front Ecol Evol. 2022 Jun;10. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.884159. Epub 2022 Jun 15.
Insects have evolved highly diverse genetic sex-determination mechanisms and a relatively balanced male to female sex ratio is generally expected. However, selection may shift the optimal sex ratio while meiotic drive and endosymbiont manipulation can result in sex ratio distortion (SRD). Recent advances in sex chromosome genomics and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing brought significant insights into the molecular regulators of sex determination in an increasing number of insects and provided new ways to engineer SRD. We review these advances and discuss both naturally occurring and engineered SRD in the context of the Anthropocene. We emphasize SRD-mediated biological control of insects to help improve One Health, sustain agriculture, and conserve endangered species.
昆虫已经进化出高度多样的遗传性别决定机制，通常预期雌雄性别比例相对平衡。然而，选择可能会改变最优性别比例，而减数分裂驱动和内共生菌操控会导致性别比例畸变（SRD）。性染色体基因组学和CRISPR/Cas9介导的基因组编辑的最新进展，为越来越多昆虫的性别决定分子调控因子带来了重要见解，并提供了构建性别比例畸变的新方法。我们回顾这些进展，并在人类世的背景下讨论自然发生的和人为构建的性别比例畸变。我们强调利用性别比例畸变进行昆虫的生物防治，以助力改善全球健康、维持农业生产并保护濒危物种。
