Genome Editing for Insect Research

 Designing molecular networks in insects using computer simulation!

Scientists Expand Entomological Research Using Genome Editing Algorithm

Hiroshima University (Japan)

July 22, 2022

A team of scientists from Japan's Hiroshima University (HU), the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences has developed an algorithm that uses genome editing to broaden entomological research. The Fanflow4Insects workflow method annotates functional information of insect genes; the researchers use it to transcribe sequence information, as well as genome and protein sequences. The team applied the algorithm to generate a functional annotation pipeline for the silkworm and the Japanese stick insect. "Using Fanflow4Insects, we are going to annotate insects that produce useful substances," said HU's Hidemasa Bono. "The ultimate goal of this study is to make it possible to design molecular networks in insects using computer simulation."