Pupal and Adult Injections for RNAi and CRISPR Gene Editing in <em>Nasonia vitripennis</em>

Abstract

The jewel wasp, Nasonia vitripennis, has become an efficient model system to study epigenetics of haplo-diploid sex determination, B-chromosome biology, host-symbiont interactions, speciation, and venom synthesis. Despite the availability of several molecular tools, including CRISPR/Cas9, functional genetic studies are still limited in this organism. The major limitation of applying CRISPR/Cas9 technology in N. vitripennis stems from the challenges of embryonic microinjections. Injections of embryos are particularly difficult in this organism and in general in many parasitoid wasps, due to small embryo size and the requirement of a host pupa for embryonic development. To address these challenges, Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex delivery into female ovaries by adult injection, rather than embryonic microinjection, was optimized, resulting in both somatic and heritable germline edits. The injection procedures were optimized in pupae and female wasps using either ReMOT Control (Receptor-Mediated Ovary Transduction of Cargo) or BAPC (Branched Amphiphilic Peptide Capsules). These methods are shown to be effective alternatives to embryo injection, enabling site-specific and heritable germline mutations.