@article{williamson_yan_scott_2021, title={Conditional knockdown of transformer in sheep blow fly suggests a role in repression of dosage compensation and potential for population suppression}, volume={17}, ISSN={1553-7404}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009792}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pgen.1009792}, abstractNote={Thetransformer(tra) gene is essential for female development in many insect species, including the Australian sheep blow fly,Lucilia cuprina. Sex-specifictraRNA splicing is controlled bySex lethal(Sxl) inDrosophila melanogasterbut is auto-regulated inL.cuprina.Sxlalso represses X chromosome dosage compensation in femaleD.melanogaster. We have developed conditionalLctraRNAi knockdown strains using the tet-off system. Four strains did not produce females on diet without tetracycline and could potentially be used for genetic control ofL.cuprina. In one strain, which showed both maternal and zygotic tTA expression, most XX transformed males died at the pupal stage. RNAseq and qRT-PCR analyses of mid-stage pupae showed increased expression of X-linked genes in XX individuals. These results suggest thatLctrapromotes somatic sexual differentiation and inhibits X chromosome dosage compensation in femaleL.cuprina. However, XX flies homozygous for a loss-of-functionLctraknockin mutation were fully transformed and showed high pupal eclosion. Two of five X-linked genes examined showed a significant increase in mRNA levels in XX males. The stronger phenotype in the RNAi knockdown strain could indicate that maternalLctraexpression may be essential for initiation of dosage compensation suppression in female embryos.}, number={10}, journal={PLOS Genetics}, publisher={Public Library of Science (PLoS)}, author={Williamson, Megan E. and Yan, Ying and Scott, Maxwell J.}, editor={Palli, Subba ReddyEditor}, year={2021}, month={Oct}, pages={e1009792} }
 @article{yan_scott_2020, title={Building a transgenic sexing
                            strain for genetic control of the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina using two lethal
                            effectors}, volume={21}, ISSN={1471-2156}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12863-020-00947-y}, DOI={10.1186/s12863-020-00947-y}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={S2}, journal={BMC Genetics}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yan, Ying and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2020}, month={Dec} }
 @article{yan_williamson_scott_2020, title={Using Moderate Transgene Expression to Improve the Genetic Sexing System of the Australian Sheep Blow Fly Lucilia cuprina}, volume={11}, ISSN={2075-4450}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11110797}, DOI={10.3390/insects11110797}, abstractNote={The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising strategy to control the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina, a major pest of sheep. We have previously developed a transgenic embryonic sexing system (TESS) for this pest to facilitate the potential SIT application. TESS carry two transgenes, a tetracycline transactivator (tTA) driver and a tTA-activated pro-apoptotic effector. TESS females die at the embryonic stage unless tetracycline is supplied in the diet. However, undesired female sterility was observed in some TESS strains without tetracycline due to expression of tTA in ovaries. Here we investigate if TESS that combine transgenes with relatively low/moderate expression/activity improves the fertility of TESS females. tTA driver lines were evaluated for tTA expression by quantitative real time PCR and/or by crossing with a tTA-activated RFPex effector line. Fertility and lethality tests showed that a TESS strain containing a driver line with moderate tTA expression and an effector line showing moderate pro-apoptotic activity could recover the fertility of parental females and eliminated all female offspring at the embryonic stage. Consequently, such a strain could be further evaluated for an SIT program for L. cuprina, and such a “moderate strategy” could be considered for the TESS development in other pest species.}, number={11}, journal={Insects}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Yan, Ying and Williamson, Megan E. and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2020}, month={Nov}, pages={797} }
 @article{yan_williamson_davis_andere_picard_scott_2019, title={Improved transgenic sexing strains for genetic control of the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina using embryo-specific gene promoters}, volume={295}, ISSN={1617-4615 1617-4623}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00438-019-01622-3}, DOI={10.1007/s00438-019-01622-3}, abstractNote={For genetic approaches for controlling insect pests such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), it is advantageous to release only males as females are ineffective as control agents and they consume about 50% of the diet. Here we developed tetracycline-repressible Lucilia cuprina transgenic strains in which adult females were fully fertile and viable on a diet that lacked tetracycline and all of their female offspring died at the embryo stage. The transgenic strains are an improvement over the strains we developed previously, which had the disadvantage that adult females on diet without tetracycline were sterile and died prematurely. This was possibly due to the low level expression of the effector gene in ovaries. In the strains developed in this study, the early promoters from L. cuprina nullo or Cochliomyia macellaria CG14427 genes were used to drive the tetracycline transactivator (tTA) expression in the early embryo. In the absence of tetracycline, tTA activates expression of the proapoptotic gene Lshid which contains a female-specific intron. Consequently, only females produce active HID protein and die at the embryo stage. Crossing the tTA-expressing driver lines with an RFPex reporter line confirmed that there was no expression of the effector gene in the ovary. These new embryonic L. cuprina transgenic sexing strains hold great promise for genetic control programs and the system reported here might also be transferable to other major calliphorid livestock pests such as the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax.}, number={2}, journal={Molecular Genetics and Genomics}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yan, Ying and Williamson, Megan E. and Davis, Rebecca J. and Andere, Anne A. and Picard, Christine J. and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2019}, month={Nov}, pages={287–298} }
 @article{yan_linger_scott_2017, title={Building early-larval sexing systems for genetic control of the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina using two constitutive promoters}, volume={7}, ISSN={2045-2322}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02763-4}, DOI={10.1038/s41598-017-02763-4}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={Scientific Reports}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yan, Ying and Linger, Rebecca J. and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2017}, month={May} }
 @article{linger_belikoff_yan_li_wantuch_fitzsimons_scott_2016, title={Towards next generation maggot debridement therapy: transgenic Lucilia sericata larvae that produce and secrete a human growth factor}, volume={16}, ISSN={1472-6750}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12896-016-0263-z}, DOI={10.1186/s12896-016-0263-z}, abstractNote={Diabetes and its concurrent complications impact a significant proportion of the population of the US and create a large financial burden on the American health care system. FDA-approved maggot debridement therapy (MDT), the application of sterile laboratory-reared Lucilia sericata (green bottle fly) larvae to wounds, is a cost-effective and successful treatment for diabetic foot ulcers and other medical conditions. Human platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) is a secreted dimeric peptide growth factor that binds the PDGF receptor. PDGF-BB stimulates cell proliferation and survival, promotes wound healing, and has been investigated as a possible topical treatment for non-healing wounds. Genetic engineering has allowed for expression and secretion of human growth factors and other proteins in transgenic insects. Here, we present a novel concept in MDT technology that combines the established benefits of MDT with the power of genetic engineering to promote healing. The focus of this study is to create and characterize strains of transgenic L. sericata that express and secrete PDGF-BB at detectable levels in adult hemolymph, whole larval lysate, and maggot excretions/ secretions (ES), with potential for clinical utility in wound healing. We have engineered and confirmed transgene insertion in several strains of L. sericata that express human PDGF-BB. Using a heat-inducible promoter to control the pdgf-b gene, pdgf-b mRNA was detected via semi-quantitative PCR upon heat shock. PDGF-BB protein was also detectable in larval lysates and adult hemolymph but not larval ES. An alternative, tetracycline-repressible pdgf-b system mediated expression of pdgf-b mRNA when maggots were raised on diet that lacked tetracycline. Further, PDGF-BB protein was readily detected in whole larval lysate as well as larval ES. Here we show robust, inducible expression and production of human PDGF-BB protein from two conditional expression systems in transgenic L. sericata larvae. The tetracycline-repressible system appears to be the most promising as PDGF-BB protein was detectable in larval ES following induction. Our system could potentially be used to deliver a variety of growth factors and anti-microbial peptides to the wound environment with the aim of enhancing wound healing, thereby improving patient outcome in a cost-effective manner.}, number={1}, journal={BMC Biotechnology}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Linger, Rebecca J. and Belikoff, Esther J. and Yan, Ying and Li, Fang and Wantuch, Holly A. and Fitzsimons, Helen L. and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2016}, month={Mar} }
 @article{yan_scott_2015, title={A transgenic embryonic sexing system for the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina}, volume={5}, ISSN={2045-2322}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep16090}, DOI={10.1038/srep16090}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={Scientific Reports}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yan, Ying and Scott, Maxwell J.}, year={2015}, month={Nov} }