Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus
Published on: December 28, 2016
Recent approaches lead to a deeper understanding of diverse segmentation mechanisms in insects, with a focus on the
1Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 4291 Fieldhouse Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Abstract:
The division of the insect embryo into repeated units - segments - is a fundamental feature of the body plan. The genes controlling this process in Drosophila melanogaster were identified in genetic screens and characterized in that species in numerous studies in the 1980s and 1990s. These genes form a well-established hierarchy and have been leveraged to examine gene regulation, transcriptional machinery, chromatin structure, and more. Much of the genetic toolkit identified in Drosophila is highly conserved throughout the animal kingdom, spearheading the field of evolutionary developmental biology or Evo-Devo. Accordingly, a 'Drosophila-centric' approach has examined the evolutionary conservation of orthologs of Drosophila segmentation genes in closely and distantly related insects. Here, we report on progress in both Drosophila and emerging model insects in recent years (2022 to present), with much of the new research related to the pair-rule subset of segmentation genes. We highlight new findings on 'classic' Drosophila genes, revealing unexpected roles of genes and cis-regulatory elements in this species. We further report on the expanding knowledge about mechanisms regulating to segmentation in emerging model insects that are distantly related to Drosophila, including those that pattern segments sequentially. We also describe technical advances in both Drosophila and nonmodel species that are currently progressing research in this field.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cis-regulatory Sequences
Position-effect Variegation
Law of Segregation
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...
Genetic Screens
Forward genetic screens
Forward or “classical” genetic screens involve creating random mutations in an organism’s DNA using radiation, mutagens, or insertion of additional bases, which...
Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance

