Sexual development in Lucilia cuprina (Diptera, Calliphoridae) is controlled by the transformer gene

Insects use an amazing variety of genetic systems to control sexual development. A Y-linked male determining gene (M) controls sex in the Australian sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina, an important pest insect. In this study, we isolated the L. cuprina transformer (Lctra) and transformer2 (Lctra2) genes, which are potential targets of M. The LCTRA and LCTRA2 proteins are significantly more similar to homologs from tephritid insects than Drosophila. The Lctra transcript is alternatively spliced such that only females make a full-length protein and the presence of six TRA/TRA2 binding sites in the female first intron suggest that Lctra splicing is autoregulated as in tephritids. LCTRA is essential for female development as RNAi knockdown of Lctra mRNA leads to the development of male genitalia in XX adults. Analysis of Lctra expression during development shows that early and midstage male and female embryos express the female form of Lctra and males express only the male form by the first instar larval stage. Our results suggest that an autoregulatory loop sustains female development and that expression of M inhibits Lctra autoregulation, switching its splicing to the male form. The conservation of tra function and regulation in a Calliphorid insect shows that this sex determination system is not confined to Tephritidae. Isolation of these genes is an important step toward the development of a strain of L. cuprina suitable for a genetic control program.