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Published on: December 15, 2009
Enforcing biphasic eye development in a directly developing insect by transient knockdown of single eye selector
1Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Summary
Insect eye development evolves in two phases: larval and adult. Gene knockdown in grasshoppers reveals the genetic basis for this biphasic visual system development, showing developmental plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Entomology
Background:
- Insect visual systems develop in two distinct phases: larval and adult.
- This biphasic development is thought to have evolved from continuous eye development in directly developing insects.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the evolutionary transformation of visual system development.
- Understand the molecular regulation of postembryonic eye development in directly developing insects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized systemic RNAi in the grasshopper Schistocerca americana.
- Performed transient knockdown of homologs for early retinal genes eyes absent (eya) and sine oculis (so).
Main Results:
- Knockdown of eya or so homologs caused long-term arrest of eye development in grasshopper nymphs.
- Eye development resumed after the knockdown effect expired, indicating inherent regulatory capacity.
Conclusions:
- Provides the first insights into the molecular control of postembryonic eye development in directly developing insects.
- Suggests the gene regulatory network can adapt to partition visual system development into distinct phases, as seen in indirectly developing insects.
