Knockin of the G275E mutation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α6 confers high levels of resistance to spinosyns in Spodoptera exigua

Spinosyns,including spinosad and spinetoram,act on the insect central nervous system,gradually paralyzing or destroying the target insect.Spinosad resistance is associated with loss-of-function mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor(nAChR)α6 subunit in a number of agricultural pests.Using gene editing,nAChRα6 has been verified as a target for spinosyns in five insect species.Recently,a point mutation(G275E)in exon 9 of nAChRα6 was identified in spinosad-resistant strains of Thrips palmi and Tuta absoluta.To date,no in vivo functional evidence has been obtained to support that this mutation is involved in spinosyn resistance in lepidopteran pests.In this study,the G275E mutation was introduced into the nAChR of Spodoptera exigua using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9)gene-editing technology.Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing confirmed that this mutation was present in exon 9 of the nAChR transcripts in the edited 275E strain.The results of bioassays showed that the 275E strain was highly resistant to spinosad(230-fold)and spinetoram(792-fold)compared to the unedited background strain,directly confirming that the G275E mutation of the nAChRα6 subunit confers high levels of spinosyn resistance in S.exigua.Inheritance analysis showed that the resistance trait is autosomal and incompletely recessive.This study employs a reverse genetics approach to validate the functional role played by the G275E mutation in nAChRα6 of S.exigua in spinosyns resistance and provides another example of the use of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to confirm the role played by candidate target site mutations in insecticide resistance.

Congenital Dysfibrinogenemia Presented with Massive Hematomas Formed after Hysterectomy

Congenital dysfibrinogenemia (CD) is a qualitative congenital fibrinogen (Fbg) disorder characterized by normal antigen levels of dysfunctional Fbg. A 41-year-old Japanese woman visited the emergent room of our hospital due to acute and severe abdominal pain. Catheterization of the full bladder released her abdominal pain. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a huge pelvic mass, suggesting an intra-mural giant myoma. Before the removal operation of myoma, screening tests showed no abnormalities, including prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time. However, Fbg level was not determined. The patient wanted to receive early surgical treatment, and an abdominal hysterectomy was performed as usual and the intra-operative blood loss was 100 g (ml). However, we found subcutaneous and pelvic hematomas, although active bleeding was not recognized on an emergent computed tomography examination. At that time, we noticed a low level of plasma Fbg (47 mg/dl). We performed a re-laparotomy to remove hematomas. All ligated blood vessels were re-ligated, and oozing points were vaporized. Around the re-operation, six units of fresh frozen plasma and twelve units of red blood cell suspension were transfused. The clinical course after the 2nd operation was uneventful except for the low level of Fbg. An additional study showed that the value of the Fbg activity and antigen was dissociated, and the patient was diagnosed CD with γ275 Arg to His (CGC to CAC) mutation.