Overexpression of miR-927-5p suppresses stalky expression and negatively reduces the spermatid production in Zeugodacus cucurbitae.

Our work not only presents a new, so far unreported mechanism regulating spermatogenesis by miR-927-5p targeting a new unknown target, Stalky, which is providing new knowledge on the regulatory network of insect spermatogenesis, but also lays a foundation for the development of SIT against important tephritid fly pests. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.