Search

The pantry moth Plodia interpunctella is a worldwide pest of stored food products and a promising laboratory model system for lepidopteran functional genomics. Here we describe efficient methods for precise genome editing in this insect. A spontaneous recessive white-eyed phenotype maps to a frameshift deletion ( c . 737delC ) in the white gene. CRISPR NHEJ mutagenesis of white replicates this phenotype with high rates of somatic biallelic knockout. G 0 individuals with mutant clones on both eyes produced 100% mutant progeny, making white an ideal marker for co-conversion when targeting other genes. CRISPR HDR experiments corrected c . 737delC and reverted white eyes to a pigmented state in 37% of G 0 mosaic adults. These repaired alleles showed practical rates of germline transmission in backcrosses, demonstrating the potential of the technique for precise genome editing. Plodia offers a promising avenue for research in this taxon because of its lab-ready features, egg injectability, and editability., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Author(s).)