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In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples
Published on: August 31, 2018
Coral emx-Am can substitute for Drosophila empty spiracles function in head, but not brain development
Beate Hartmann1, Martin Müller, Nikki R Hislop
1Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Developmental Biology
|January 5, 2010
Summary
Coral emx-Am can rescue head development in fruit flies, but not brain development, suggesting distinct evolutionary paths for head and brain patterning mechanisms across species.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Evolutionary developmental biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The ems/Emx genes are crucial for anterior embryonic patterning in bilaterians.
- Cnidarian ems/Emx genes suggest conserved functions across Eumetazoa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the conserved functions of cnidarian ems/Emx proteins across phyla.
- To determine the extent to which coral Acropora emx-Am can substitute for Drosophila ems.
Main Methods:
- Cross-phylum rescue expression experiments were performed.
- Coral emx-Am was misexpressed in Drosophila ems mutants.
- Rescue of head and brain developmental defects was assessed.
Main Results:
- Coral emx-Am successfully rescued head development defects in Drosophila ems mutants.
- Coral emx-Am failed to rescue brain development defects, even with motif insertion.
- Engrailed expression domains were restored in rescued Drosophila heads.
Conclusions:
- Coral emx-Am can functionally substitute for Drosophila ems in head patterning.
- Distinct molecular mechanisms underlie head versus brain development evolution.
- The study provides insights into the evolutionary origins of patterning mechanisms.
