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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

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Regulatory changes underlying the evolution of skylight navigation.

Heidi Roth1, Melanie Sarfert2, Aleksandra Simdianova1

  • 1Freie Universität, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie und Pharmazie, Institut für Biologie - Abteilung Neurobiologie, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, Berlin 14195, Germany.

Iscience
|June 22, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The gene homothorax (hth) is crucial for developing the dorsal rim area (DRA) in fruit flies, enabling polarized light navigation. Its role in DRA formation appears to be a recent evolutionary development in higher flies.

Keywords:
EntomologyEvolutionary biologyGeneticsZoology

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Area of Science:

  • Entomology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Polarized skylight serves as a vital navigational cue for many insects.
  • The dorsal rim area (DRA) of the compound eye is responsible for detecting polarized light.
  • Diverse DRA morphologies and spectral tuning suggest evolutionary adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genetic basis and evolutionary origins of DRA diversity in insects.
  • To identify the regulatory elements controlling DRA development.
  • To understand the evolutionary timeline of hth gene involvement in DRA specification.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized genome editing to study the function of a minimal enhancer regulating hth expression in Drosophila.
  • Employed mutagenesis of conserved motifs within the enhancer to analyze transcription factor activity.
  • Generated antibodies to examine hth expression patterns in the dorsal rim areas of various insect species, including honeybees, butterflies, mosquitoes, and higher flies.

Main Results:

  • A 675 bp minimal enhancer controls homothorax (hth) gene expression in the Drosophila DRA.
  • Disruption of this enhancer via genome editing eliminated DRA formation and impaired polarization-guided behavior.
  • hth is expressed in the DRAs of higher flies but not in honeybees, butterflies, or mosquitoes.
  • hth expression in DRAs correlates with the loss of its homolog Pknox/Prep1 in higher flies.

Conclusions:

  • The homothorax (hth) gene plays a critical role in specifying the dorsal rim area (DRA) in Drosophila.
  • The involvement of hth in DRA development is a relatively recent evolutionary event, specific to higher flies (Brachycera).
  • Evolutionary shifts in photoreceptor optics and photochemistry likely accompanied the emergence of hth's role in DRA specification.