Synthetic biology is an eco-friendly and sustainable approach for the production of compounds, particularly used when the production processes involve toxic reagents. In this study, we used the silk gland of silkworm to produce indigoidine, a valuable natural blue pigment that cannot be synthesized naturally in animals. We genetically engineered these silkworms by integrating the indigoidine synthetase ( idgS ) gene from S. lavendulae and the PPTase ( Sfp ) gene from B. subtilis into the silkworm genome. In the resulting Blue silkworm, indigoidine was detected at a high level in the posterior silk gland (PSG), spanning all developmental stages from larvae to adults, without affecting silkworm growth or development. This synthesized indigoidine was secreted from the silk gland and subsequently stored in the fat body, with only a small fraction being excreted by the Malpighian tubule. Metabolomic analysis revealed that Blue silkworm efficiently synthesized indigoidine by upregulating l -glutamine, the precursor of indigoidine, and succinate, which is related to energy metabolism in the PSG. This study represents the first synthesis of indigoidine in an animal and therefore opens a new avenue for the biosynthesis of natural blue pigments and other valuable small molecules.
Bark beetles rely on detoxifying enzymes to resist the defensive oleoresin terpenes of the host tree. Insect cytochrome P450 (CYPs) plays a key role in the detoxification of plant allelochemicals and pesticides. CYP6 family is unique to Insecta, and its biochemical function is basically related to catabolize heterologous substances. In this study, two Dendroctonus armandi CYP6 genes, CYP6DF1 and CYP6DJ2, were characterized. Spatiotemporal expression profiling revealed that CYP6DF1 and CYP6DJ2 expressions were higher in larvae and adult stages of D. armandi than in egg and pupae stages, and that two genes predominantly expressed in brain , midgut, fat body, or Malpighian tubules . Moreover, CYP6DF1 and CYP6DJ2 expressions were significantly induced after exposure to (+)- α -pinene. Importantly, silencing CYP6DF1 and CYP6DJ2 significantly inhibited the CYP activity and increased the mortality in the adults fumigated with (+)- α -pinene. Additionally, piperonyl butoxide exposure to adults also increase the sensitivity after treatment with (+)- α -pinene, which led to a significant reduction of the CYP activity, resulting a significant increase in adult mortality. These results suggest that the CYP6 family plays a key role in determining the susceptibility of D. armandi to (+)- α -pinene, which may have implications for the development of novel therapeutics to control this important pest.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）