{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,21]],"date-time":"2026-06-21T12:02:38Z","timestamp":1782043358350,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,14]],"date-time":"2023-11-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699920000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32072482"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32072482"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["LSNQN202017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LSNQN202017"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Young Scholars\u2019 Fund by Department of Education of Liaoning Province","award":["32072482"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32072482"]}]},{"name":"Young Scholars\u2019 Fund by Department of Education of Liaoning Province","award":["LSNQN202017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LSNQN202017"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Oogenesis in insects is a carefully orchestrated process, facilitating the formation of female gametes, which is regulated by multiple extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including ovary serine protease (Osp). As a member of the serine protease family, Osp is a homolog of Nudel, a maternally required protease defining embryonic dorsoventral polarity in Drosophila. In this study, we used CRISPR\/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis to functionally characterize Osp in the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, a devastating maize pest throughout Asia and Australia. Building on previous knowledge, we hypothesized that knockout of Osp would disrupt embryonic development in O. furnacalis females. To examine this overarching hypothesis, we (1) cloned and characterized Osp from O. furnacalis, (2) designed target sites on exons 1 and 4 to construct a CRISPR\/Cas9 mutagenesis system, and (3) documented phenotypic impacts among O. furnacalis Osp mutants. As a result, we (1) examined the temporal-spatial expression profiles of OfOsp, which has an open reading frame of 5648 bp in length and encodes a protein of 1873 amino acids; (2) established O. furnacalis Osp mutants; and (3) documented recessive, female-specific sterility among OfOspF mutants, including absent or deformed oviducts and reduced fertility in female but not male mutants. Overall, the combined results support our initial hypothesis that Osp is required for embryonic development, specifically ovarian maturation, in O. furnacalis females. Given its substantial impacts on female sterility, Osp provides a potential target for the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to manage Lepidoptera pests in general and the species complex Ostrinia in particular.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms242216311","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,14]],"date-time":"2023-11-14T09:12:39Z","timestamp":1699953159000},"page":"16311","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Knockout of ovary serine protease Leads to Ovary Deformation and Female Sterility in the Asian Corn Borer, Ostrinia furnacalis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Porui","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zuerdong","family":"Jialaliding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junwen","family":"Gu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Austin","family":"Merchant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5111-2809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2385-8224","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xuguo","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1080\/09670879109371535","article-title":"Review of the biology and control of the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Lep: Pyralidae)","volume":"37","author":"Nafus","year":"1991","journal-title":"Trop. 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