Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Methods to Test Endocrine Disruption in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: July 3, 2019
Evolutionary divergence of the paralogs Methoprene tolerant (Met) and germ cell expressed (gce) within the genus
Aaron Baumann1, Yoshihiro Fujiwara, Thomas G Wilson
1Department of Entomology, 400 Aronoff Laboratory, Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Abstract:
Juvenile hormone (JH) signaling underpins both regulatory and developmental pathways in insects. However, the JH receptor is poorly understood. Methoprene tolerant (Met) and germ cell expressed (gce) have been implicated in JH signaling in Drosophila. We investigated the evolution of Met and gce across 12 Drosophila species and found that these paralogs are conserved across at least 63 million years of dipteran evolution. Distinct patterns of selection found using estimates of dN/dS ratios across Drosophila Met and gce coding sequences, along with their incongruent temporal expression profiles in embryonic Drosophila melanogaster, illustrate avenues through which these genes have diverged within the Diptera. Additionally, we demonstrate that the annotated gene CG15032 is the 5' terminus of gce. In mosquitoes and beetles, a single Met-like homolog displays structural similarity to both Met and gce, and the intron locations are conserved with those of gce. We found that Tribolium and mosquito Met orthologs are assembled from Met- and gce-specific domains in a modular fashion. Our results suggest that Drosophila Met and gce experienced divergent evolutionary pressures following the duplication of an ancestral gce-like gene found in less derived holometabolous insects.
Related Concept Videos
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Position-effect Variegation
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...
Cis-regulatory Sequences
Gene Duplication and Divergence
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are characterized.

