The diverse colors and patterns found in Lepidoptera are important for success of these species. Similar to the wings of adult butterflies, lepidopteran larvae exhibit diverse color variations to adapt to their habitats. Compared with butterfly wings, however, less attention has been paid to larval body colorations and patterns. In the present study, we focus on the yellow-y gene, which participates in the melanin synthesis pathway. We conducted CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis of yellow-y in the tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura. We analyzed the role of S. litura yellow-y in pigmentation by morphological observation and discovered that yellow-y is necessary for normal black pigmentation in S. litura. We also showed species- and tissue-specific requirements of yellow-y in pigmentation in comparison with those of Bombyx mori yellow-y mutants. Furthermore, we found that almost none of the yellow-y mutant embryos hatched unaided. We provide evidence that S. litura yellow-y has a novel important function in egg hatching, in addition to pigmentation. The present study will enable a greater understanding of the functions and diversification of the yellow-y gene in insects.

在鳞翅目中发现的不同颜色和图案对于这些物种的成功很重要。类似于成年蝴蝶的翅膀，鳞翅目幼虫表现出不同的颜色变化以适应它们的栖息地。然而，与蝴蝶翅膀相比，对幼虫身体颜色和图案的关注较少。在本研究中，我们关注参与黑色素合成途径的Yellow-y基因。我们在烟草夜蛾Spodoptera litura 中进行了 CRISPR/Cas9 介导的黄色 y靶向诱变。我们分析了S的作用。通过形态学观察色素沉着中的litura yellow-y发现，yellow-y是S 中正常黑色色素沉着所必需的。斜纹夜蛾。我们还显示了与家蚕黄色-y突变体相比，黄色-y在色素沉着中的物种和组织特异性要求。此外，我们发现几乎没有一个黄色-y突变体胚胎是独立孵化的。我们提供证据表明S。除了色素沉着之外，litura yellow-y在卵孵化中还具有新的重要功能。本研究将有助于更好地了解昆虫中黄色 y基因的功能和多样化。