{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T07:05:22Z","timestamp":1790665522458,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32470486"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32470486"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Insect Science"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) is a key enzyme that connects melanin production and innate immunity in insects, yet its regulatory network in major lepidopteran pests remains poorly understood. We combined CRISPR\/Cas9 gene editing with multi\u2010omics analysis to explore DDC's role in immune responses in the invasive pest\n                    <jats:italic>Spodoptera frugiperda<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Knocking out\n                    <jats:italic>DDC<\/jats:italic>\n                    caused complete albinism, severe developmental delays, pronounced developmental defects, and increased susceptibility to bacterial challenge. Following the\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    challenge,\n                    <jats:italic>DDC<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2010mutant larvae showed substantially lower final survival than infected wild\u2010type larvae (6.7% vs. 66.7%) and failed to pupate, despite pronounced cuticular darkening. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses showed that\n                    <jats:italic>DDC<\/jats:italic>\n                    loss disrupted the tyrosine\u2010dopamine pathway and was associated with altered expression of genes related to the prophenoloxidase cascade. Notably,\n                    <jats:italic>laccase2<\/jats:italic>\n                    was transcriptionally upregulated after challenge; however, its contribution to infection\u2010associated cuticular darkening remains to be determined. This response did not restore dopamine\u2010dependent immune signaling or whole\u2010body metabolism, as evidenced by disruptions in glycine\/serine pathways and reduced immune gene activity. These results separate pigmentation from immune functions within the melanin pathway, highlighting DDC as a crucial immune\u2010metabolic hub. Given its roles in development and immunity and the high conservation of the dopamine pathway in invertebrates,\n                    <jats:italic>DDC<\/jats:italic>\n                    is a promising target for species\u2010specific, resistance\u2010proof RNAi pest control methods.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/1744-7917.70370","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T06:42:48Z","timestamp":1790664168000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Targeting DOPA decarboxylase disrupts immune\u2010metabolic coordination and renders\n                    <i>Spodoptera frugiperda<\/i>\n                    susceptible to bacterial infection"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"given":"Ze\u2010Yuan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shang\u2010Huan","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shen\u2010Lei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin\u2010Fang","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhao\u2010Wei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Ecology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Ecology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4544-4903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guan\u2010Heng","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology Sun Yat\u2010sen University  Shenzhen Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_8_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16584","DOI":"10.1074\/jbc.M901629200","article-title":"Molecular and functional analyses of amino acid decarboxylases involved in cuticle tanning in Tribolium castaneum","volume":"284","author":"Arakane Y.","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Biological Chemistry"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11337","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0504982102","article-title":"Laccase 2 is the phenoloxidase gene required for beetle cuticle tanning","volume":"102","author":"Arakane Y.","year":"2005","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 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