Differential expression of the adult specifier E93 in the strepsipteran Xenos vesparum Rossi suggests a role in female neoteny.

ABSTRACT: Holometaboly is a key evolutionary innovation that has facilitated the spectacular radiation of insects. Despite the undeniable advantage of complete metamorphosis, the female of some holometabolous species have lost the typical holometabolous development through neoteny. In Xenos vesparum Rossi (Strepsiptera: Stylopidae), a derived species of the holometabolous endoparasitic order Strepsiptera, neotenic females reach sexual maturity without the pupal and the imaginal stages, thus retaining their larval morphology (with the exception of the anterior part of the body or cephalothorax), while males undergo normal pupal-based metamorphosis. Expression of the "adult-specifier" E93 factor has been shown to be required for proper metamorphosis in holometabolous insects. Here, we investigated the

SUBMITTER: Chafino S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6155025 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature