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Raja KKB, Shittu MO, Nouhan PME, Steenwinkel TE, Bachman EA, Kokate PP, McQueeney A, Mundell EA, Armentrout AA, Nugent A, Werner T. The regulation of a pigmentation gene in the formation of complex color patterns in Drosophila abdomens. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0279061. [PMID: 36534652 PMCID: PMC9762589 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in the control of developmental gene expression patterns have been implicated in the evolution of animal morphology. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying complex morphological traits remain largely unknown. Here we investigated the molecular mechanisms that induce the pigmentation gene yellow in a complex color pattern on the abdomen of Drosophila guttifera. We show that at least five developmental genes may collectively activate one cis-regulatory module of yellow in distinct spot rows and a dark shade to assemble the complete abdominal pigment pattern of Drosophila guttifera. One of these genes, wingless, may play a conserved role in the early phase of spot pattern development in several species of the quinaria group. Our findings shed light on the evolution of complex animal color patterns through modular changes of gene expression patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komal K. B. Raja
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Mujeeb O. Shittu
- Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Science, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY), New York, United States of America
| | - Peter M. E. Nouhan
- McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Tessa E. Steenwinkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Evan A. Bachman
- Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Prajakta P. Kokate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Alexander McQueeney
- School of Medicine, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elizabeth A. Mundell
- School of Technology, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Alexandri A. Armentrout
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Amber Nugent
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Thomas Werner
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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You L, Bi HL, Wang YH, Li XW, Chen XE, Li ZQ. CRISPR/Cas9-based mutation reveals Argonaute 1 is essential for pigmentation in Ostrinia furnacalis. INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 26:1020-1028. [PMID: 29938905 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is one of the most destructive agricultural pests in Asia. Traditional pest-management methods include sex pheromone capture, transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis toxin, and pesticides. Although these strategies control pest populations effectively, they also cause negative side effects, including dramatically increased pesticide resistance, severe pollution, and hazards for human health. Recently developed genome editing tools provide new prospects for pest management and have been successfully used in several species. However, few examples have been reported in the agricultural pest O. furnacalis due to a lack in genomic information. In this report, we identified only one transcript of O. furnacalis Argonaute 1 (OfAgo1) gene from the genome and cloned the open reading frame. OfAgo1 presented the maximum expression at the embryo stage or in the fat body during the larval stages. To understand its function, an OfAgo1 mutant was constructed using the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease (CRISPR/Cas9). Mutagenesis of OfAgo1 disrupted cuticle pigmentation by down-regulating micro RNAs and pigmentation-related genes. This is the first report for the cloning and functional analysis of OfAgo1, revealing a role of OfAgo1 in cuticle pigmentation. The current report also established a CRISPR/Cas9 system in O. furnacalis, providing a new insight for pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lang You
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong-Lun Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao-Hui Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Wei Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xi-En Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhi-Qian Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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Özsu N, Chan QY, Chen B, Gupta MD, Monteiro A. Wingless is a positive regulator of eyespot color patterns in Bicyclus anynana butterflies. Dev Biol 2017; 429:177-185. [PMID: 28668322 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2017.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2017] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Eyespot patterns of nymphalid butterflies are an example of a novel trait yet, the developmental origin of eyespots is still not well understood. Several genes have been associated with eyespot development but few have been tested for function. One of these genes is the signaling ligand, wingless, which is expressed in the eyespot centers during early pupation and may function in eyespot signaling and color ring differentiation. Here we tested the function of wingless in wing and eyespot development by down-regulating it in transgenic Bicyclus anynana butterflies via RNAi driven by an inducible heat-shock promoter. Heat-shocks applied during larval and early pupal development led to significant decreases in wingless mRNA levels and to decreases in eyespot size and wing size in adult butterflies. We conclude that wingless is a positive regulator of eyespot and wing development in B. anynana butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nesibe Özsu
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore.
| | - Qian Yi Chan
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Bin Chen
- Institute of Entomology and Molecular Biology, Chongqing Normal University, Shapingba, 400047 Chongqing, China
| | - Mainak Das Gupta
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore; Yale-NUS College, Singapore 138614, Singapore.
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Das Gupta M, Chan SKS, Monteiro A. Natural Loss of eyeless/Pax6 Expression in Eyes of Bicyclus anynana Adult Butterflies Likely Leads to Exponential Decrease of Eye Fluorescence in Transgenics. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132882. [PMID: 26173066 PMCID: PMC4501736 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Commonly used visible markers for transgenesis use fluorescent proteins expressed at the surface of the body, such as in eyes. One commonly used marker is the 3xP3-EGFP cassette containing synthetic binding sites for the eyeless/Pax6 conserved transcription factor. This marker cassette leads to fluorescent eyes in a variety of animals tested so far. Here we show that upon reaching adulthood, transgenic Bicyclus anynana butterflies containing this marker cassette exponentially loose fluorescence in their eyes. After 12 days, transgenic individuals are no longer distinguishable from wild type individuals. The decreased eye fluorescence is likely due to significantly decreased or halted eyeless/Pax6 expression observed in wild type animals upon adult emergence. Implications from these findings include care in screening transgenic animals before these reach adulthood, or shortly thereafter, and in using adult animals of the same age for quantitative screening of likely homozygote and heterozygote individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mainak Das Gupta
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sam Kok Sim Chan
- Biological Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore
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Abstract
This article reviews the latest developments in our understanding of the origin, development, and evolution of nymphalid butterfly eyespots. Recent contributions to this field include insights into the evolutionary and developmental origin of eyespots and their ancestral deployment on the wing, the evolution of eyespot number and eyespot sexual dimorphism, and the identification of genes affecting eyespot development and black pigmentation. I also compare features of old and more recently proposed models of eyespot development and propose a schematic for the genetic regulatory architecture of eyespots. Using this schematic I propose two hypotheses for why we observe limits to morphological diversity across these serially homologous traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antónia Monteiro
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, and Yale-NUS-College, Singapore;
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Over-expression of Ultrabithorax alters embryonic body plan and wing patterns in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Dev Biol 2014; 394:357-66. [PMID: 25169193 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2014.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In insects, forewings and hindwings usually have different shapes, sizes, and color patterns. A variety of RNAi experiments across insect species have shown that the hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) is necessary to promote hindwing identity. However, it remains unclear whether Ubx is sufficient to confer hindwing fate to forewings across insects. Here, we address this question by over-expressing Ubx in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana using a heat-shock promoter. Ubx whole-body over-expression during embryonic and larvae development led to body plan changes in larvae but to mere quantitative changes to adult morphology, respectively. Embryonic heat-shocks led to fused segments, loss of thoracic and abdominal limbs, and transformation of head limbs to larger appendages. Larval heat-shocks led to reduced eyespot size in the expected homeotic direction, but neither additional eyespots nor wing shape changes were observed in forewings as expected of a homeotic transformation. Interestingly, Ubx was found to be expressed in a novel, non-characteristic domain - in the hindwing eyespot centers. Furthermore, ectopic expression of Ubx on the pupal wing activated the eyespot-associated genes spalt and Distal-less, known to be directly repressed by Ubx in the fly׳s haltere and leg primordia, respectively, and led to the differentiation of black wing scales. These results suggest that Ubx has been co-opted into a novel eyespot gene regulatory network, and that it is capable of activating black pigmentation in butterflies.
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Beaudette K, Hughes TM, Marcus JM. Improved injection needles facilitate germline transformation of the buckeye butterfly Junonia coenia. Biotechniques 2014; 56:142-4. [PMID: 24641478 DOI: 10.2144/000114147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Germline transformation with transposon vectors is an important tool for insect genetics, but progress in developing transformation protocols for butterflies has been limited by high post-injection ova mortality. Here we present an improved glass injection needle design for injecting butterfly ova that increases survival in three Nymphalid butterfly species. Using the needles to genetically transform the common buckeye butterfly Junonia coenia, the hatch rate for injected Junonia ova was 21.7%, the transformation rate was 3%, and the overall experimental efficiency was 0.327%, a substantial improvement over previous results in other butterfly species. Improved needle design and a higher efficiency of transformation should permit the deployment of transposon-based genetic tools in a broad range of less fecund lepidopteran species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kahlia Beaudette
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Tia M Hughes
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY; Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Jeffrey M Marcus
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY
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Chen B, Monteiro A. A method for inducible gene over-expression and down-regulation in emerging model species using Pogostick. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1101:249-266. [PMID: 24233785 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-721-1_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Nontraditional model species need new tools for the functional testing of genes, both conserved and lineage-specific genes. These tools should enable the exploration of gene function, either via knock-downs of endogenous genes or via over-expression and ectopic expression of transgenes. We constructed a new vector called Pogostick that can be used to over-express or down-regulate genes in organisms amenable to germ-line transformation by the piggyBac transposable element. The vector currently uses the heat-shock promoter Hsp70 from Drosophila melanogaster to drive transgene expression and, as such, will have immediate applicability to organisms that can correctly interpret this promotor sequence. Here we introduce the main features of Pogostick and how candidate genes can be inserted into the vector for use in either over-expression or down-regulation experiments. In addition, we also test Pogostick in two insect species, D. melanogaster and the emerging model butterfly Bicyclus anynana. We over-express the fluorescent protein DsRed during the larval and pupal stages of D. melanogaster development, and down-regulate DsRed in a line constitutively expressing this gene in the eyes. We then test the over-expression of Ultrabithorax (Ubx) in B. anynana, and obtain sequences flanking the Pogostick genomic insertions. This new vector will allow emerging model species to enter the field of functional genetics with few hurdles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Chen
- Institute of Entomology and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, P. R. China
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MONTEIRO ANTÓNIA, CHEN BIN, RAMOS DIANEM, OLIVER JEFFREYC, TONG XIAOLING, GUO MIN, WANG WEN, FAZZINO LISA, KAMAL FIRDOUS. Distal‐
L
ess
Regulates Eyespot Patterns and Melanization in
Bicyclus
Butterflies. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2013; 320:321-31. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2013] [Accepted: 03/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- ANTÓNIA MONTEIRO
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticut
| | - BIN CHEN
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticut
- Institute of Entomology and Molecular BiologyCollege of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal UniversityShapingbaChongqingP.R.China
| | - DIANE M. RAMOS
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
| | - JEFFREY C. OLIVER
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticut
| | - XIAOLING TONG
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticut
| | - MIN GUO
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
| | - WEN‐KAI WANG
- College of AgricultureYangtze University, Hubei ProvinceJingzhouChina
| | | | - FIRDOUS KAMAL
- Department of Electrical EngineeringUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
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Everett A, Tong X, Briscoe AD, Monteiro A. Phenotypic plasticity in opsin expression in a butterfly compound eye complements sex role reversal. BMC Evol Biol 2012. [PMID: 23194112 PMCID: PMC3549281 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Animals often display phenotypic plasticity in morphologies and behaviors that result in distinct adaptations to fluctuating seasonal environments. The butterfly Bicyclus anynana has two seasonal forms, wet and dry, that vary in wing ornament brightness and in the identity of the sex that performs the most courting and choosing. Rearing temperature is the cue for producing these alternative seasonal forms. We hypothesized that, barring any developmental constraints, vision should be enhanced in the choosy individuals but diminished in the non-choosy individuals due to physiological costs. As a proxy of visual performance we measured eye size, facet lens size, and sensitivity to light, e.g., the expression levels of all opsins, in males and females of both seasonal forms. Results We found that B. anynana eyes displayed significant sexual dimorphism and phenotypic plasticity for both morphology and opsin expression levels, but not all results conformed to our prediction. Males had larger eyes than females across rearing temperatures, and increases in temperature produced larger eyes in both sexes, mostly via increases in facet number. Ommatidia were larger in the choosy dry season (DS) males and transcript levels for all three opsins were significantly lower in the less choosy DS females. Conclusions Opsin level plasticity in females, and ommatidia size plasticity in males supported our visual plasticity hypothesis but males appear to maintain high visual function across both seasons. We discuss our results in the context of distinct sexual and natural selection pressures that may be facing each sex in the wild in each season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Everett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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Heat shock-mediated misexpression of genes in the beetle Tribolium castaneum. Dev Genes Evol 2012; 222:287-98. [DOI: 10.1007/s00427-012-0412-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2012] [Accepted: 06/29/2012] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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12
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Hombría JCG. Butterfly eyespot serial homology: enter the Hox genes. BMC Biol 2011; 9:26. [PMID: 21527048 PMCID: PMC3084179 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-9-26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2011] [Accepted: 04/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Hox genes modify serial homology patterns in many organisms, exemplified in vertebrates by modification of the axial skeleton and in arthropods by diversification of the body segments. Butterfly wing eyespots also appear in a serial homologous pattern that, in certain species, is subject to local modification. A paper in EvoDevo reports the Hox gene Antp is the earliest known gene to have eyespot-specific expression; however, not all Lepidoptera express Antp in eyespots, suggesting some developmental flexibility. See research article: http://www.evodevojournal.com/content/2/1/9
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