Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Harvesting Venom Toxins from Assassin Bugs and Other Heteropteran Insects
Published on: April 21, 2018
The structure of the USP/RXR of Xenos pecki indicates that Strepsiptera are not closely related to Diptera
D C Hayward1, J W H Trueman, M J Bastiani
1Molecular Genetics and Evolution Group and Centre for the Molecular Genetics of Development, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, P.O. Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Abstract:
The receptor for the insect molting hormone, ecdysone, is a heterodimer consisting of the Ecdysone Receptor and Ultraspiracle (USP) proteins. The ligand binding domain sequences of arthropod USPs divide into two distinct groups. One group consists of sequences from members of the holometabolous Lepidoptera and Diptera, while the other arthropod sequences group with vertebrate retinoid-X-receptors (RXRs). We therefore wondered whether USP/RXR structure could be used to clarify the contentious phylogenetic position of the order Strepsiptera, which has proposed affinities with either Diptera or Coleoptera. We have cloned and sequenced the USP/RXR from the strepsipteran Xenos pecki. Phylogenetic analyses are not consistent with a close affinity between Strepsiptera and Diptera.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Species and Reproductive Barriers
Pollination and Flower Structure
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Diversity of Protists I
Phylogenetic Species Concept in Microbiology

