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The neuroblast timer gene nubbin exhibits functional redundancy with gap genes to regulate segment identity in Tribolium.

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Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

The neuroblast timer genes hunchback, Krüppel, nubbin and castor are expressed in temporal sequence in neural stem cells, and in corresponding spatial sequence along the Drosophila blastoderm. As canonical gap genes, hunchback and Krüppel play a crucial role in insect segmentation, but the roles of nubbin and castor in this process remain ambiguous. We have investigated the expression and functions of nubbin and castor during segmentation in the beetle Tribolium. We show that Tc-hunchback, Tc-Krüppel, Tc-nubbin and Tc-castor are expressed sequentially in the segment addition zone, and that Tc-nubbin regulates segment identity redundantly with two previously described gap/gap-like genes, Tc-giant and Tc-knirps. Simultaneous knockdown of Tc-nubbin, Tc-giant and Tc-knirps results in the formation of ectopic legs on abdominal segments. This homeotic transformation is caused by loss of abdominal Hox gene expression, likely due to expanded Tc-Krüppel expression. Our findings support the theory that the neuroblast timer series was co-opted for use in insect segment patterning, and contribute to our growing understanding of the evolution and function of the gap gene network outside of Drosophila.

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Keywords

Tribolium castaneum, castor, nubbin, Gap gene, Hox gene, Neuroblast, Animals, Blastoderm, Body Patterning, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drosophila, Embryonic Development, Female, Gene Expression, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Gene Regulatory Networks, Genes, Homeobox, Homeodomain Proteins, Insect Proteins, Male, Neural Stem Cells, POU Domain Factors, RNA Interference, Repressor Proteins, Tribolium

Journal Title

Development

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0950-1991
1477-9129

Volume Title

148

Publisher

The Company of Biologists

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (109147/Z/15/Z)
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