Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
Evol Dev. 2011 Sep-Oct;13(5):436-47. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00497.x.
The process of head development in insects utilizes a set of widely conserved genes, but this process and its evolution are not well understood. Recent data from Tribolium castaneum have provided a baseline for an understanding of insect head development. However, work on a wider range of insect species, including members of the hemimetabolous orders, is needed in order to draw general conclusions about the evolution of head differentiation and regionalization. We have cloned and studied the expression and function of a number of candidate genes for head development in the hemipteran Oncopeltus fasciatus. These include orthodenticle, empty spiracles, collier, cap 'n' collar, and crocodile. The expression patterns of these genes show a broad conservation relative to Tribolium, as well as differences from Drosophila indicating that Tribolium + Oncopeltus represent a more ancestral pattern. In addition, our data provide a blastodermal fate map for different head regions in later developmental stages and supply us with a "roadmap" for future studies on head development in this species.
昆虫头部发育过程利用了一组广泛保守的基因，但这一过程及其进化仍未被很好地理解。来自赤拟谷盗的最新数据为理解昆虫头部发育提供了一个基准。然而，需要对更广泛的昆虫物种进行研究，包括半变态目成员，以便就头部分化和区域化的进化得出一般性结论。我们已经克隆并研究了半翅目昆虫梨象甲中一些头部发育候选基因的表达和功能。这些基因包括 orthodenticle、empty spiracles、collier、cap'n'collar 和 crocodile。这些基因的表达模式相对于 Tribolium 具有广泛的保守性，同时与 Drosophila 也存在差异，这表明 Tribolium+Oncopeltus 代表了更原始的模式。此外，我们的数据还提供了不同头部区域在后期发育阶段的胚盘命运图，并为我们提供了在该物种中进行头部发育未来研究的“路线图”。
