Molecular mapping and characterization of the silkworm apodal mutant.

ABSTRACT: The morphological diversity of insects is important for their survival; in essence, it results from the differential expression of genes during development of the insect body. The silkworm apodal (ap) mutant has degraded thoracic legs making crawling and eating difficult and the female is sterile, which is an ideal subject for studying the molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis. Here, we confirmed that the infertility of ap female moths is a result of the degradation of the bursa copulatrix. Positional cloning of ap locus and expression analyses reveal that the Bombyx mori sister of odd and bowl (Bmsob) gene is a strong candidate for the ap mutant. The expression of Bmsob is down-regulated, while the corresponding Hox genes are up-regulated in the ap mutant compared to the wild type. Analys

SUBMITTER: Chen P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4704060 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature