Genome and Genetic Engineering of the House Cricket (<i>Acheta domesticus</i>): A Resource for Sustainable Agriculture
2023
Aaron T. Dossey | Brenda Oppert | Fu-Chyun Chu | Marcé D. Lorenzen | Brian Scheffler | Sheron Simpson | Sergey Koren | J. Spencer Johnston | Kosuke Kataoka | Keigo Ide
<b>Background:</b> The house cricket, <i>Acheta domesticus</i>, is one of the most farmed insects worldwide and the foundation of an emerging industry using insects as a sustainable food source. Edible insects present a promising alternative for protein production amid a plethora of reports on climate change and biodiversity loss largely driven by agriculture. As with other crops, genetic resources are needed to improve crickets for food and other applications. <b>Methods:</b> We present the first high quality annotated genome assembly of <i>A. domesticus</i> from long read data and scaffolded to chromosome level, providing information needed for genetic manipulation. <b>Results:</b> Gene groups related to immunity were annotated and will be useful for improving value to insect farmers. Metagenome scaffolds in the <i>A. domesticus</i> assembly, including Invertebrate Iridescent Virus 6 (IIV6), were submitted as host-associated sequences. We demonstrate both CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knock-in and knock-out of <i>A. domesticus</i> and discuss implications for the food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. RNAi was demonstrated to disrupt the function of the vermilion eye-color gene producing a useful white-eye biomarker phenotype. <b>Conclusions:</b> We are utilizing these data to develop technologies for downstream commercial applications, including more nutritious and disease-resistant crickets, as well as lines producing valuable bioproducts, such as vaccines and antibiotics.
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