Blastoderm segmentation in Oncopeltus fasciatus and the evolution of insect segmentation mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Segments are formed simultaneously in the blastoderm of the fly Drosophila melanogaster through a hierarchical cascade of interacting transcription factors. Conversely, in many insects and in all non-insect arthropods most segments are formed sequentially from the posterior. We have looked at segmentation in the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus. Posterior segments are formed sequentially, through what is probably the ancestral arthropod mechanism. Formation of anterior segments bears many similarities to the Drosophila segmentation mode. These segments appear nearly simultaneously in the blastoderm, via a segmentation cascade that involves orthologues of Drosophila gap genes working through a functionally similar mechanism. We suggest that simultaneous blastoderm segmentation evolved at o

SUBMITTER: Stahi R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5069518 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature