Insights into insect wing origin provided by functional analysis of vestigial in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum.

ABSTRACT: Despite accumulating efforts to unveil the origin of insect wings, it remains one of the principal mysteries in evolution. Currently, there are two prominent models regarding insect wing origin: one connecting the origin to the paranotal lobe and the other to the proximodorsal leg branch (exite). However, neither hypothesis has been able to surpass the other. To approach this conundrum, we focused our analysis on vestigial (vg), a critical wing gene initially identified in Drosophila. Our investigation in Tribolium (Coleoptera) has revealed that, despite the well-accepted view of vg as an essential wing gene, there are two groups of vg-dependent tissues in the "wingless" first thoracic segment (T1). We show that one of these tissues, the carinated margin, also depends on other factors esse

SUBMITTER: Clark-Hachtel CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3801059 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature