The role of the pupal determinant broad during embryonic development of a direct-developing insect.

ABSTRACT: Metamorphosis is one of the most common, yet dramatic of life history strategies. In insects, complete metamorphosis with morphologically distinct larval stages arose from hemimetabolous ancestors that were more direct developing. Over the past century, several ideas have emerged that suggest the holometabolous pupa is developmentally homologous to the embryonic stages of the hemimetabolous ancestor. Other theories consider the pupal stage to be a modification of a hemimetabolous nymph. To address this question, we have isolated an ortholog of the pupal determinant, broad (br), from the hemimetabolous milkweed bug and examined its role during embryonic development. We show that Oncopeltus fasciatus br (Of'br) is expressed in two phases. The first occurs during germ band invagination and se

SUBMITTER: Erezyilmaz DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2884998 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature