Egg Microinjection for the Ladybird Beetle Harmonia axyridis

In this paper, we present a detailed protocol for microinjecting DNA, RNA, or protein solutions into fertilized eggs of the multicolored Asian ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis, under a stereomicroscope equipped with an injection apparatus. H. axyridis is an emerging model organism for studying var...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Taro Nakamura, Yuji Matsuoka, Teruyuki Niimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bio-protocol LLC 2024-12-01
Series:Bio-Protocol
Online Access:https://bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?id=5136&type=0
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Summary:In this paper, we present a detailed protocol for microinjecting DNA, RNA, or protein solutions into fertilized eggs of the multicolored Asian ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis, under a stereomicroscope equipped with an injection apparatus. H. axyridis is an emerging model organism for studying various biological fields, showing intraspecific polymorphisms exhibiting highly diverse color patterns on the elytra. Here, we describe how to rear ladybird beetles in a laboratory and obtain fertilized eggs for microinjection experiments. We also provide a constant fluid flow injection method, which enhances the efficiency of microinjection and improves throughput. Our step-by-step protocol is applicable to generating transgenic or genome-edited ladybird beetles, facilitating functional genetics in H. axyridis; the microinjection method should be applicable to other insect eggs.
ISSN:2331-8325