Determination of the wing identity in Blattella germanica (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae)

• Grant number: 12/09108-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Physiology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Dalton de Souza Amorim
• Grantee: Moysés Elias Neto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 12/15397-0 - Developmental characterization and function of the homeotic genes Ubx and SCR in Blattella germanica (Dictyoptera, Blattelidae), BE.EP.PD

Abstract

The wings are a fundamental morphological innovation in Insecta for the adaptive radiation of this lineage, which is the most diversified among all animals. The pterygote insects have two pairs of wings, one on the mesothorax and another on the metathorax, and, after their origin during evolution, the forewings and hindwings diverged in terms of structure and function. The present project aims to elucidate the mechanisms of determination of the wing identity in the hemimetabolan Blattella germanica (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae), in which occurs differentiation between coriaceous (tegminas) and membranous wings. To this end, the expression profile and post-transcriptional silencing of Ultrabithorax-Ubx will be investigated, according to the hypothesis that this homeotic gene regulates the derivation of the identity of the third thoracic segment. The expected result is that Ubx determines the membranous nature of metathoracic wings and that cockroaches submitted to systemic RNAi have two pairs of tegminas. Another aspect to be investigated is: What is the identity of the ancestral wings? Our hypothesis is that they would be coriaceous, similar to the tegminas. To test this hypothesis, an equivalent experimental approach will be adopted, in this case, for another important homeotic gene, the Sex combs reduced-Scr, which inhibits wing formation on the first thorax segment. The expected result of the silencing of Scr is the development of ectopic wings on the prothorax, supposedly similar to the primitive wings. The ontogenesis of these hypothetical primordial wings will be carefully investigated through the survey of morphological and molecular markers. The use of a basal pterygote as a biological model can potentially afford new insights into the origin and evolution of wings in insects and lead to a better understanding of the basis of imaginal disk development in more derived Neoptera. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MOYSÉS ELIAS-NETO; MICHELLE P.M. SOARES; MÁRCIA M. G. BITONDI. Expression profile of a Laccase2 encoding gene during the metamorphic molt in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera,Apidae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, v. 57, n. 2, p. 213-216, 2013-05-31. (12/09108-6, 10/16380-9, 07/08300-2)

ELIAS-NETO, MOYSES; NASCIMENTO, ANA L. O.; BONETTI, ANA M.; NASCIMENTO, FABIO S.; MATEUS, SIDNEI; GAROFALO, CARLOS A.; BITONDI, MARCIA M. G.. Heterochrony of cuticular differentiation in eusocial corbiculate bees. Apidologie, v. 45, n. 4, p. 397-408, JUL 2014. (12/09108-6, 07/08300-2, 10/16380-9, 05/03926-5)

ELIAS-NETO, MOYSES; SOARES, MICHELLE P. M.; BITONDI, MARCIA M. G.. Expression profile of a Laccase2 encoding gene during the metamorphic molt in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, v. 57, n. 2, p. 213-216, APR-JUN 2013. (12/09108-6, 07/08300-2, 10/16380-9)