ArticleBMC biology2024
The mechanoreceptor Piezo is required for spermatogenesis in Bombyx mori.
Article in BMC biology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- The testis-specific gene SfGSTe11 regulates eupyrene sperm morphogenesis and is indispensable for male reproduction in a global pest, Spodoptera frugiperda.Pest management science · 2026Article
- SV2B is a crucial factor for early larval development in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.Insect science · 2026Article
- Article
- A Testis-Specific Aralkylamine N-Acetyltransferase Regulates Dimorphic Sperm Function and Male Fertility in Moths.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
- Programmed meiotic errors facilitate dichotomous sperm production in the silkworm,Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Article
- Identification of candidate mechanosensory transduction channels in the aquatic insect Protohermes xanthodes (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) by transcriptome analysis.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2025Article
- β2-tubulin regulates the development and migration of eupyrene sperm in Spodoptera frugiperda.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
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10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe animal sperm shows high diversity in morphology, components, and motility. In the lepidopteran model insect, the silkworm Bombyx mori, two types of sperm, including nucleate fertile eupyrene sperm and anucleate unfertile apyrene sperm, are generated. Apyrene sperm assists fertilization by facilitating the migration of eupyrene spermatozoa from the bursa copulatrix to the spermatheca. During spermatogenesis, eupyrene sperm bundles extrude the cytoplasm by peristaltic squeezing, while the nuclei of the apyrene sperm bundles are discarded with the same process, forming matured sperm.
resultsIn this study, we describe that a mechanoreceptor BmPiezo, the sole Piezo ortholog in B. mori, plays key roles in larval feeding behavior and, more importantly, is essential for eupyrene spermatogenesis and male fertility. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated loss of BmPiezo function decreases larval appetite and subsequent body size and weight. Immunofluorescence analyses reveal that BmPiezo is intensely localized in the inflatable point of eupyrene sperm bundle induced by peristaltic squeezing. BmPiezo is also enriched in the middle region of apyrene sperm bundle before peristaltic squeezing. Cytological analyses of dimorphic sperm reveal developmental arrest of eupyrene sperm bundles in BmPiezo mutants, while the apyrene spermatogenesis is not affected. RNA-seq analysis and q-RT-PCR analyses demonstrate that eupyrene spermatogenic arrest is associated with the dysregulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Moreover, we show that the deformed eupyrene sperm bundles fail to migrate from the testes, resulting in male infertility due to the absence of eupyrene sperm in the bursa copulatrix and spermatheca.
conclusionsIn conclusion, our studies thus uncover a new role for Piezo in regulating spermatogenesis and male fertility in insects.
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