CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knock-out of abnormal chemosensory jump 6 (acj6) gene impacts Helicoverpa armigera antennal lobe structure.

The specificity of the olfactory system in the brain is determined not only by the expression of odorant receptor genes but also by the specific neural circuit assembly within the antennal lobe (AL). To investigate the developmental role of abnormal chemosensory jump 6 (acj6) in the moth Helicoverpa armigera, we generated Haacj6 mutants using CRISPR/Cas9 and examined the detailed structure of the AL based on immunostaining and three-dimensional reconstruction. The results showed that the AL in male Haacj6 mutants w…