STAT transcription factor is indispensable for oogenesis in silkworm

Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins represent a critical transcription factor family with multifaceted roles in diverse fundamental eukaryotic processes. In Drosophila, STAT exerts a pivotal regulatory influence on oogenesis, governing the early differentiation of follicular cells and ensuring proper encapsulation of germ-line cells. However, the role of STAT in egg development in silkworms remains unknown. In the present study, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we successfully generated a strain of silkworms with targeted deletion of the STAT-L gene, which resulted in significant reproductive abnormalities observed in female moths, including shortened fallopian tubes and reduced egg production. The ovaries dissected from STAT-L knockout silkworms during the pupal stage of silkworm exhibited varying degrees of fusion among egg chambers. Additionally, paraffin sections of prepupal ovaries also revealed evidence of egg chambers fusion. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the role of the STAT-L gene regulation on egg development in silkworm, we performed ovarian transcriptomic analysis following STAT-L knockout. Our findings indicated that STAT-L gene can modulate Notch signaling pathway by down-regulating APH-1 gene expression. These results suggest that STAT-L gene plays a crucial role in normal egg chamber formation in silkworms, potentially through its influence on Notch signaling pathway expression.