CRISPR/Cas9 technology for precise gene editing has already proven successful in mice, C. elegans, Xenopus tropicalis, and plants. Now CRISPR has been used the silkmoth Bombyx mori, an important insect model organism.

To overcome prior difficulties in creating mutant strains of B. mori using other gene targeting techniques, Ma et al. used CRISPR to disrupt the Bmku70 gene. Bmku70 is required for non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and plays a role in telomere length maintenance, subtelomeric gene silencing and antigen diversity. Bmku70 knockouts exhibit an increased frequency of homologous recombination and thus can provide a powerful new model for future studies on the fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair.


The CRISPR method relies upon customized gene constructs that encode a codon-optimized Cas9 nuclease and a synthetic guide RNA for precise targeting. GenScript's gene synthesis service can prepare the constructs you need and deliver them in as few as 4 business days.