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摘要: BACKGROUND Knickkopf (Knk) proteins play crucial roles in the formation of insect cuticle. Recent studies in the holometabolous insect red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) have shown that three Knk genes encoding TcKnk, TcKnk2 and TcKnk3 play different but essential roles at different developmental stages and in different tissues. However, the functions of Knk genes had not been fully explored in hemimetabolous insects such as the migratory locust Locusta migratoria. RESULTS We identified three transcripts of LmKnk‐like genes LmKnk2 and LmKnk3 with the full‐length cDNA sequences, which were named as LmKnk2, LmKnk3‐FL and LmKnk3‐5′. These three transcripts were highly expressed before molting and mainly expressed in the integument. Among these genes, silencing only LmKnk3‐5′ by RNA interference (RNAi) caused molting defects and high mortality of the locusts. Injection of …