CRISPR/Cas9 in Lepidopteran Insects: Progress, Application and Prospects

Clustered regularly spaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR) structure family forms the acquired immune system in bacteria and archaea. Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas genome editing as derived from prokaryotes, confirmed the characteristics of robustness, high target specificity and programmability, and also revolutionized the insect sciences field. The successful application of CRISPR in a wide variety of lepidopteran insects, with a high genetic diversity, provided opportunities to explore gene functions, insect modification and pest control. In this review, we present a detailed overview on the recent progress of CRISPR in lepidopteran insects, and described the basic principles of the system and its application. Major interest is on wing development, pigmentation, mating, reproduction, sex determination, metamorphosis, resistance and silkworm breeding innovation. Finally, we outlined the limitations of CRISPR/Cas system and discussed its application prospects in lepidopteran insects.