SignificanceAedes aegypti is the principal vector of multiple arboviruses that significantly affect human health, including dengue, chikungunya, and zika. Development of tools for efficient genome engineering in this mosquito will not only lay the foundation for the application of genetic control strategies, but will also accelerate basic research on key biological processes involved in disease transmission. Here, we report the development of a transgenic CRISPR approach for rapid gene disruption in this organism. Given their high editing efficiencies, the Cas9 strains we developed can be used to quickly generate genome modifications, allowing for high-throughput gene targeting, and can possibly facilitate the development of gene drives, thereby accelerating comprehensive functional annotation and development of innovative population control strategies.

The carmine spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus [Acarifonnes: Tetranychidae]) and the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae [Acarifonnes: Tetranychidae]) are two notorious pests of agricultural crops. Control of these pests has been dependent upon using different kinds of acaricides. The purpose of this study was to determine the differential responses of these two pest species collected from crops in the same field to acaricide treatments. Field trials have shown that without spraying acaricides, T. cinnabarinus will displace T. urticae. However, the application of abamectin has the potential to change the composition of spider mite complexes and facilitate the interspecific competition of T. urticae against T. cinnabarinus when both are fed on cowpeas and eggplants. Moreover, T. urticae is more prone to develop resistance than T. cinnabarinus when selected in the laboratory using cyflumetofen or fenpropathrin. After 20 generations of acaricide selection, the activities of detoxifying enzymes were considerably higher in T. urticae with more detoxifying enzymes upregulated after selection in this species. The results of this study demonstrate that differential responses to acaricide treatments have made it possible for T. urticae to overcome the competitive advantage present in T. cinnabarinus during the absence of acaricide application.

Chemosensation plays a role in the behaviors and life cycles of numerous organisms, including nematodes. Many guilds of nematodes exist-ranging from the free-living Caenorhabditis elegans to various parasitic species such as entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), which are parasites of insects. Despite ecological differences, previous research has shown that both EPNs and C. elegans respond to prenol (3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol), an odor associated with EPN-infections. However, it is unclear how C. elegans responds to prenol. By utilizing natural variation and genetic neuron ablation to investigate the response of C. elegans to prenol, we found that the AWC neurons are involved in the detection of prenol and that several genes (including dcap-1, dcap-2, and clec-39) influence response to this odorant. Furthermore, we identified that the response to prenol is mediated by the canonically proposed pathway required for other AWC-sensed attractants. However, upon testing genetically diverse isolates, we found that the response of some strains to prenol differed from their response to isoamyl alcohol (IAA), suggesting that the pathways mediating response to these two odorants may be genetically distinct. Further, evaluations leveraging natural variation and genome wide association revealed specific genes that influence nematode behavior and provide a foundation for future studies to better understand the role of prenol in nematode behavioral ecology.

Premise: The measurement of leaf morphometric parameters from digital images can be time-consuming or restrictive when using digital image analysis softwares. The Multiple Leaf Sample Extraction System (MuLES) is a new tool that enables highthroughput leaf shape analysis with minimal user input or prerequisites, such as coding knowledge or image modification. Methods and Results: MuLES uses contrasting pixel color values to distinguish between leaf objects and their background area, eliminating the need for color threshold-based methods or color correction cards typically required in other software methods. The leaf morphometric parameters measured by this software, especially leaf aspect ratio, were able to distinguish between large populations of different accessions for the same species in a high-throughput manner.Conclusions: MuLES provides a simple method for the rapid measurement of leaf morphometric parameters in large plant populations from digital images and demonstrates the ability of leaf aspect ratio to distinguish between closely related plant types.

Consumer preferences for cooking-related traits are a deciding factor in the success of new cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] cultivars. Pigment leaching is an undesirable trait for both consumers and producers alike that occurs during the cooking or canning process and has been a goal for improvement efforts through breeding. This study leverages the power of bulked segregant analysis to identify a locus segregating for the pigment-leaching trait in an F2 population of blackeye seed-type cowpea. A single major locus was identified on Vu06 spanning 1.27 Mb, and SNP haplotypes were identified for low and high pigment-leaching bulks. However, further evaluation of accessions that are unrelated to the F2 population or its progenitors suggests that the trait is polygenic, such that low or high leakage is not determined solely by this locus. Parallels were drawn between cowpea and a close relative, black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), to suggest that additional seed coat or cooking-related traits may also be involved in the pigment-leaching trait.