{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,16]],"date-time":"2026-08-16T04:26:57Z","timestamp":1786854417131,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Project of Fujian Province Natural Science Foundation","award":["2023J02009"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023J02009"]}]},{"name":"Fuzhou-Xiamen-Quanzhou National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone RNAi Microbial Pesticide Collaborative Innovation Platform Project","award":["2024-P-002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-P-002"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Science and Technology Project","award":["2024L3004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024L3004"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["W2533068"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["W2533068"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["W2533068"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["W2533068"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"\u201c111\u201d program","award":["KRA16001A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KRA16001A"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gametocyte-specific factor 1 (Gtsf1) plays a pivotal role in the gonadal development by transposon silencing via the piRNA pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and Bombyx mori, and is implicated in the female sex determination in B. mori. However, its function remains elusive in other insect species, including Plutella xylostella, a highly destructive pest in cruciferous crops. In this study, we characterized PxGtsf1, encoding a 27.84 kDa protein containing two conserved U11-48K-like CHHC zinc-finger domains. PxGtsf1 was predominantly expressed in male pupae, males and testes. Using CRISPR\/Cas9 technique, we successfully generated a homozygous PxGtsf1-knockout strain (\u25b3PxGtsf1) with 11 bp deletion. \u25b3PxGtsf1 females exhibited normal morphology in terms of external genitalia, body weight, ovariole morphology, ovariole length, oocytes number, and internal ovarian structure, and maintained the expression levels of genes related to female sex determination and fertility. In contrast, \u25b3PxGtsf1 males displayed reduced testis size and enlarged eupyrene sperm bundles, whereas apyrene sperm bundles appeared normal. Wild-type (WT) or \u25b3PxGtsf1 females mated with \u25b3PxGtsf1 males had significantly smaller bursa copulatrix distention area compared to those mated with WT males. Furthermore, WT or \u25b3PxGtsf1 females mated with \u25b3PxGtsf1 males produced significantly fewer eggs with lower hatching rates than those mated with WT males. Co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that PxGtsf1 specifically interacts with PxPiwi. Small RNA sequencing further showed that PxGtsf1 knockout resulted in transposon dysregulation in the testes without affecting overall piRNA abundance, suggesting that PxGtsf1 functions in piRNA-mediated transposon regulation rather than global piRNA biogenesis. PxGtsf1 is first reported to be specifically required for male fertility in Lepidoptera insects but is dispensable for female sex determination., PxGtsf1 regulates transposon homeostasis without affecting global piRNA biogenesis. These findings provide new insights into the diverse functions of Gtsf1 in Lepidopteran insects.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects17080846","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T10:39:01Z","timestamp":1786703941000},"page":"846","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Gametocyte-Specific Factor 1 Is Essential for Male Fertility and Transposon Homeostasis in Plutella xylostella"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jianying","family":"Liao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8007-2431","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad","family":"Asad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0019-5112","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yanpeng","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beihua","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengbin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiping","family":"Du","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jinzhi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Southern Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Crop Breeding, Wenzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology (Wenzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Wenzhou 325006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3250-5228","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guang","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Ministerial and Provincial Joint Innovation Centre for Safety Production of Cross-Strait Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management for Fujian-Taiwan Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou 350002, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Pest Control, Fujian Province University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2277","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btn431","article-title":"A novel CHHC Zn-finger domain found in spliceosomal proteins and tRNA modifying enzymes","volume":"24","author":"Andreeva","year":"2008","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1716","DOI":"10.1002\/wrna.1716","article-title":"Developmental roles and molecular mechanisms of Asterix\/GTSF1","volume":"13","author":"Ipsaro","year":"2022","journal-title":"Wiley Interdiscip. 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