# CRISPR-Mediated Silkworm: The Oncoming Agricultural Revolutions and a Rising Model Organism

## TL;DR

CRISPR technology is transforming silkworm research and agriculture by enabling precise genetic modifications that improve silk production and disease resistance.

## Contribution

The paper highlights how CRISPR has evolved in silkworms from basic gene editing to genome-wide screening, enabling new applications in biomanufacturing and sustainable agriculture.

## Key findings

- CRISPR allows precise genetic modifications in silkworms, enhancing traits like disease resistance and silk production.
- High-quality genomes and pangenomes have made silkworms a key model for integrating biological datasets.
- AI-assisted CRISPR predictions are improving the efficiency of trait modifications and eco-friendly silk production.

## Abstract

The silkworm (Bombyx mori) is essential to sericulture and is also becoming a key model organism in genomics and agriculture. For decades, genetic studies of the silkworm were limited by inefficient and inflexible genome tools. CRISPR genome editing allows precise and scalable alterations to genes regulating development, physiology, and industrial traits. This review summarizes silkworm genome-editing breakthroughs, highlighting CRISPR’s evolution from simple gene knockouts to large-scale genome-wide screening. We highlight how these advancements contribute to disease resistance, higher yields, and the development of new silk-based materials, as well as how they influence the development and growth rate of the sericulture. The creation of high-quality reference genomes, pangenomes, and genome-wide screening systems has made the silkworm a major model for integrating multiple biological datasets and approaches, such as genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic. By considering the unique biological characteristics of the silkworm, this provides new insights for research on silk biology, piRNA synthetic biology, and hormonal signaling regulation. Finally, we examine new areas at the intersection of CRISPR, pangenomics, and artificial intelligence (AI) and suggest future paths for molecular breeding, pest control, and synthetic biology. Moreover, AI-assisted prediction of CRISPR outcomes is utilized to inform the design of targeted trait modifications, representing an approach to enhancing biomanufacturing efficiency and eco-friendly silk production. Together, these advances have made the silkworm a flexible genetic platform and an important part of sustainable agriculture and biomanufacturing.