Towards disrupting Pierce's disease transmission by glassy-winged sharpshooter using CRISPR

Genetic-based control strategies for pest insects have been severely constrained by the ability to alter the insect genome at precise locations.  This hurdle has been overcome by the development of CRISPR-based technology and its rapid extension into insect species when there is a physical means for delivering this technology into a species’ genome.  We have solved this issue for the glassy-winged sharpshooter.  We use this technology in a proof-of-concept strategy to generate strains of sharpshooter that break the transmission cycle of Pierce’s Disease, thereby reducing, or even eliminating, the financial impact of this pest to California agriculture. Our preliminary data showing that we have already achieved high frequency CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in GWSS using insect embryo microinjection techniques developed in our laboratories. Our ability to develop genome-edited GWSS strains is an indication of the impact that CRISPR-based technology has on modern genetics and novel genetic control mechanisms for insect pests, such as GWSS.