Differentially expressed genes in the antenna of BmOR56 knocking-out strain in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Cis jasmine, as one of the key volatile substances in mulberry leaves to attract silkworm larvae, is the ligand of Bombyx mori olfactory receptor BmOR56. Therefore, BmOR56 gene is closely related to the feeding habits of Bombyx mori. In this study, the BmOR56 gene was knocked out by CRISPR / cas9 technology. The antennae of homozygous mutant M1 was used as the experimental material for transcriptomic analysis on the 3rd day of the 5th instar, with the wild-type Qiufeng serving as the control. As the results, compared with the wild-type Qiufeng, 1282 differentially expressed genes were identified, of which 547 genes were down-regulated and 735 genes were up-regulated. These DEGs mainly involved in binding, catalytic activity, structural molecule activity, transporter activity and metal ion binding. Further analysis indicated that a large number of genes related to silkworm feeding habits, protein synthesis and energy metabolism were differentially expressed. These results provided new experimental evidences for the mechanism research of BmOR56 on silkworm feeding habits, and laid a theoretical foundation on breeding silkworm strain with artificial feed adaptability.