State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Chenxing Peng
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Chenghao Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Kunpeng Lu
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Chunlin Li
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Xin Ding
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Xiaohui Duan
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Yaru Lu
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Hai Hu
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Duan Tan
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
The color pattern of insects is one of the most diverse adaptive evolutionary phenotypes. However, the molecular regulation of this color pattern is not fully understood. In this study, we found that the transcription factor Bm-mamo is responsible for black dilute (bd) allele mutations in the silkworm. Bm-mamo belongs to the BTB zinc finger family and is orthologous to mamo in Drosophila melanogaster. This gene has a conserved function in gamete production in Drosophila and silkworms and has evolved a pleiotropic function in the regulation of color patterns in caterpillars. Using RNAi and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology, we showed that Bm-mamo is a repressor of dark melanin patterns in the larval epidermis. Using in vitro binding assays and gene expression profiling in wild-type and mutant larvae, we also showed that Bm-mamo likely regulates the expression of related pigment synthesis and cuticular protein genes in a coordinated manner to mediate its role in color pattern formation. This mechanism is consistent with the dual role of this transcription factor in regulating both the structure and shape of the cuticle and the pigments that are embedded within it. This study provides new insight into the regulation of color patterns as well as into the construction of more complex epidermal features in some insects.
