From Aedes to Zeugodacus: a review of dipteran body coloration studies regarding evolutionary developmental biology, pest control, and species discovery

Dion, William; Steenwinkel, Tessa E.; Werner, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.gde.2021.01.006

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Collectively, these results provide strong evidence that ebony is the responsible gene for the bp phenotype in GUA10 and possibly other tephritids in which parallel phenotypes have been described. In addition to these findings, the creation of ebony -null mutants across distantly related species allowed for fundamental insights into the contribution of Ebony to color patterning and development in tephritids, which have significant importance for dipteran evolutionary developmental biology 19 , and thus discussed below. We hope that these thoughts will spark renewed interest in the evolution of pigmentation patterns and phenotypic diversity within the family Tephritidae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This deletion removes the entire protein-coding region of the gene, thus disrupting its function; (2) disruption of ebony function is sufficient to recreate analogous bp phenotypes in diverse tephritids, indicating its potential as a candidate gene for other naturally occurring bp mutations within the family; (3) Ebony plays an essential role in inhibiting black melanization in adult fruit flies, which constitutes one of the genetic mechanisms underlying pigmentation differences within and between tephritid species; and (4) the ebony gene may have pleiotropic effects on both embryo viability and adult development in tephritids, ultimately impacting fitness. We discuss these discoveries through the lens of dipteran evolutionary developmental biology 19 and their implications for the construction of new GSS for SIT applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The genetic basis of the black pupae phenotype in tephritid fruit flies

Paulo,

Nguyen,

Ward

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The remarkable diversity of insect pigmentation offers a captivating avenue for exploring evolution and genetics. In tephritid fruit flies, decoding the molecular pathways underlying pigmentation traits also plays a central role in applied entomology. Mutant phenotypes like the black pupae (bp) have long been used as a component of genetic sexing strains, allowing male-only release in tephritid sterile insect technique applications. However, the genetic basis of bp remains largely unknown. Here, we present independent evidence from classical and modern genetics showing that the bp phenotype in the GUA10 strain of the Mexican fruit fly,Anastrepha ludens, is caused by a large deletion at theebonylocus resulting in the removal of the entire protein-coding region of the gene. Targeted knockout ofebonyinduced analogous bp phenotypes across six tephritid species spanning over 50 million years of divergent evolution. This functionally validated our findings and allowed for a deeper investigation into the role of Ebony in pigmentation and development in these species. Our study offers fundamental knowledge for developing new sexing strains based on the bp marker and for future evolutionary developmental biology studies in tephritid fruit flies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The genetic basis of the black pupae phenotype in tephritid fruit flies

Paulo,

Nguyen,

Ward

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The tan (t) gene is an important player in insect pigmentation, and studies involving t offer an excellent opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that regulate color pattern formation and complexity [19]. The t gene product is required for the production of brown melanin [20,21] and is sometimes co-expressed with yellow (y) [22][23][24].…”

Section: And Insectmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Concerted Expression of the yellow and tan Genes in Complex Patterns on the Abdomen and Wings of Drosophila guttifera

Raja

Bachman

Latuszek

et al. 2023

Genes

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How complex morphological patterns form is an intriguing question in developmental biology. However, the mechanisms that generate complex patterns remain largely unknown. Here, we sought to identify the genetic mechanisms that regulate the tan (t) gene in a multi-spotted pigmentation pattern on the abdomen and wings of Drosophila guttifera. Previously, we showed that yellow (y) gene expression completely prefigures the abdominal and wing pigment patterns of this species. In the current study, we demonstrate that the t gene is co-expressed with the y gene in nearly identical patterns, both transcripts foreshadowing the adult abdominal and wing melanin spot patterns. We identified cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) of t, one of which drives reporter expression in six longitudinal rows of spots on the developing pupal abdomen, while the second CRM activates the reporter gene in a spotted wing pattern. Comparing the abdominal spot CRMs of y and t, we found a similar composition of putative transcription factor binding sites that are thought to regulate the complex expression patterns of both terminal pigmentation genes y and t. In contrast, the y and t wing spots appear to be regulated by distinct upstream factors. Our results suggest that the D. guttifera abdominal and wing melanin spot patterns have been established through the co-regulation of y and t, shedding light on how complex morphological traits may be regulated through the parallel coordination of downstream target genes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Concerted Expression of the Yellow and Tan Genes in Complex Patterns on the Abdomen and Wings of Drosophila Guttifera

Raja¹,

Bachman²,

Fernholz³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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How complex morphological patterns form is an intriguing question in developmental biology. However, the mechanisms that generate complex patterns remain largely unknown. Here we sought to identify the genetic mechanisms that regulate the tan (t) gene in a multi-spotted pigmentation pattern on the abdomen and wings of Drosophila guttifera. Previously, we showed that yellow (y) gene expression completely prefigures the abdominal [1] and wing [2] pigment patterns of this species. In the current study, we demonstrate that the t gene is co-expressed with the y gene in nearly identical patterns, both transcripts foreshadowing the adult abdominal and wing melanin spot patterns. We identified cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) of t, one of which drives reporter expression in six longitudinal rows of spots on the developing pupal abdomen, while the second CRM activates the reporter gene in a spotted wing pattern. Comparing the abdominal spot CRMs of y and t, we found a similar composition of putative transcription factor binding sites that are thought to regulate the complex expression patterns of both terminal pigmentation genes y and t. In contrast, the y and t wing spots appear to be regulated by distinct upstream factors. Our results suggest that the D. guttifera abdominal and wing melanin spot patterns have been established through the co-regulation of y and t, shedding light on how complex morphological traits may be regulated through the parallel coordination of downstream target genes.

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From Aedes to Zeugodacus: a review of dipteran body coloration studies regarding evolutionary developmental biology, pest control, and species discovery

Cited by 4 publications

References 48 publications

The genetic basis of the black pupae phenotype in tephritid fruit flies

The genetic basis of the black pupae phenotype in tephritid fruit flies

The Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Concerted Expression of the yellow and tan Genes in Complex Patterns on the Abdomen and Wings of Drosophila guttifera

The Genetic Mechanisms Underlying the Concerted Expression of the <em>Yellow</em> and <em>Tan</em> Genes in Complex Patterns on the Abdomen and Wings of <em>Drosophila Guttifera</em>

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