CRISPR/Cas9 Mutagenesis in Phlebotomus papatasi: the Immune Deficiency Pathway Impacts Vector Competence for Leishmania major

Abstract

Sand flies are the natural vectors of Leishmania parasites. Studies of sand fly/ Leishmania interactions have been limited by the lack of successful genomic manipulation of these insects. This paper shows the first example of successful targeted mutagenesis in sand flies via adaptation of the CRISPR/Cas9 editing technique. We generated transmissible null mutant alleles of relish , a gene known to be essential for the control of immune response in other insects. In addition to the expected higher level of susceptibility to bacteria, the mutant flies presented higher loads of parasites when infected with L. major , showing that the sand fly immune response impacts its vector competence for this pathogen.