{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T10:57:54Z","timestamp":1784631474700,"version":"3.55.0"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1010131","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,31]],"date-time":"2022-03-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648684800000}}],"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1647820800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012659","name":"Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32021001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32021001"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["31830093"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31830093"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences","award":["XDPB16"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XDPB16"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosgenetics.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Genet"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sperm deliver the male complement of DNA to the ovum, and thus play a key role in sexual reproduction. Accordingly, spermatogenesis has outstanding significance in fields as disparate as infertility treatments and pest-control, making it a broadly interesting and important focus for molecular genetics research in a wide range of species. Here we investigate spermatogenesis in the model lepidopteran insect<jats:italic>Bombyx mori<\/jats:italic>(silkworm moth), with particular focus on the gene<jats:italic>PMFBP1<\/jats:italic>(polyamine modulated factor 1 binding protein 1). In humans and mouse,<jats:italic>PMFBP1<\/jats:italic>is essential for spermatogenesis, and mutations of this gene are associated with acephalic spermatozoa, which cause infertility. We identified a<jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>mori<\/jats:italic>gene labeled as \u201cPMFBP1\u201d in GenBank\u2019s RefSeq database and sought to assess its role in spermatogenesis. Like in mammals, the silkworm version of this gene (<jats:italic>BmPMFBP1<\/jats:italic>) is specifically expressed in testes. We subsequently generated<jats:italic>BmPMFBP1<\/jats:italic>mutants using a transgenic CRISPR\/Cas9 system. Mutant males were sterile while the fertility of mutant females was comparable to wildtype females. In<jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>mori<\/jats:italic>, spermatogenesis yields two types of sperm, the nucleated fertile eupyrene sperm, and anucleated unfertile apyrene sperm. Mutant males produced abnormal eupyrene sperm bundles but normal apyrene sperm bundles. For eupyrene sperm, nuclei were mislocated and disordered inside the bundles. We also found the<jats:italic>BmPMFBP1<\/jats:italic>deficiency blocked the release of eupyrene sperm bundles from testes to ejaculatory seminalis. We found no obvious abnormalities in the production of apyrene sperm in mutant males, and double-matings with apyrene-deficient<jats:italic>sex-lethal<\/jats:italic>mutants rescued the<jats:italic>\u0394BmPMFBP1<\/jats:italic>infertility phenotype. These results indicate<jats:italic>BmPMFBP1<\/jats:italic>functions only in eupyrene spermatogenesis, and highlight that distinct genes underlie the development of the two sperm morphs commonly found in Lepidoptera. Bioinformatic analyses suggest<jats:italic>PMFBP1<\/jats:italic>may have evolved independently in lepidoptera and mammals, and that despite the shared name, are likely not homologous genes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1010131","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T17:40:59Z","timestamp":1647884459000},"page":"e1010131","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":29,"title":["BmPMFBP1 regulates the development of eupyrene sperm in the silkworm, Bombyx mori"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Dehong","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7963-0253","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jun","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yujia","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xu","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Linmeng","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4471-3323","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xingyu","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7942-8322","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Zulian","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1640-1637","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Muwang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6340-995X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"James 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