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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #427618
Research Project: Sustainable Pest Management for Arid-Land Agroecosystems

Location: Pest Management and Biocontrol Research

Title: Behavior and physiology of a Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Meridae) aaNAT knockout strain diverges little from the wild type

Author
item Brent, Colin
item Hull, Jimmy
item Machtley, Scott
item Casey, Miles
item Gross, Roni
item SCHUTZE, INANA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Langhorst, Daniel
item Heu, Chan
item Hagler, James

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/18/2025
Publication Date: 2/5/2026
Citation: Brent, C.S., Hull, J.J., Machtley, S.A., Casey, M.T., Gross, R.J., Schutze, I.X., Langhorst, D.R., Heu, C.C., Hagler, J.R. 2026. Behavior and physiology of a Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Meridae) aaNAT knockout strain diverges little from the wild type. Journal of Economic Entomology. 119(2):1374-1388. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaf342.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaf342

Interpretive Summary: Manipulation of genes involved in regulating cuticle color can create externally visible markers of successful gene editing. However, such engineered mutations can have secondary impacts on key traits that are undesirable, especially if the mutants are expected to compete with wild-type (WT) individuals, such as might occur with genetic sterile insect technique. Here, we tested for negative impacts in Lygus hesperus Knight from the knockout of aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (aaNAT), an enzyme needed to convert dopamine to cuticular sclerotin. Silencing this gene was previously shown to produce entirely black versions of this significant crop pest. Here, we compared knockout (KO) and WT strains across numerous behavioral and physiological traits. In most regards, the two strains were quite similar; adults had equivalent locomotor activity, sperm production, mating activity, and susceptibility to heat, desiccation, and predation. However, some differences were observed with the aaNAT KO strain relative to the WT strain; a higher proportion of embryos and nymphs survived maturation, adult females and males lived longer, females produced fewer eggs, and males had a higher rate of mating success. Overall, the results suggest the aaNAT KO is an appropriate marker that may facilitate rapid screening of gene edits and the development of population suppression systems.

Technical Abstract: Manipulation of genes involved in regulating pigmentation can create externally visible markers of successful gene editing. However, such engineered mutations can have secondary impacts on key traits that are undesirable, especially if the mutants are expected to compete with wild-type (WT) individuals, such as might occur with a genetic sterile insect technique. Here, we tested for negative impacts in Lygus hesperus Knight from the knockout of aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (aaNAT), needed to convert dopamine to N-acetyldopamine (NADA) sclerotin. Knockdown of this gene was previously shown to produce entirely black versions of this significant crop pest. Here, we compared knockout (KO) and WT strains across numerous behavioral and physiological traits. In most regards, the two strains were quite similar, with adults exhibiting equivalent locomotor activity, sperm production, mating activity, and susceptibility to heat, desiccation, and predation. However, some differences were observed with the aaNAT KO strain relative to the WT strain; eggs had higher hatch rates, nymphs had higher rates of survival to adulthood, adults lived longer, females produced fewer eggs, and males had a higher rate of mating success. Overall, the results suggest the aaNAT KO is a suitable marker that may facilitate rapid screening of gene edits and the development of population suppression systems.