Regional patterning and regulation of melanin pigmentation in insects

Popadić, Aleksandar; Tsitlakidou, Despina

doi:10.1016/j.gde.2021.05.004

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Previous studies also characterized over ten conserved gene families that encode protein components of cuticle generally referred to as cuticle proteins (CPs; Willis 2010 ). The two largest CP subfamilies code for CPR RR-1 and CPR RR-2 proteins, which are characterized by the deeply conserved chitin-binding Rebers and Riddiford consensus domain ( Rebers and Riddiford 1988 ; Rebers and Willis 2001 ). Adding to this complexity of protein domain-defined CP genes, there are several gene families that code for low-complexity proteins, which we will refer to as noncanonical CPs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Complex Cuticle Organization of the Tribolium Compound Eye

Chen

Sasikala-Appukuttan

Husain

et al. 2022

Genome Biology and Evolution

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The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum is a resource-rich model for genomic and developmental studies. To extend previous studies on Tribolium eye development, we produced transcriptomes for normal-eyed and eye-depleted heads of pupae and adults to identify differentially transcript enriched (DE) genes in the visual system. Unexpectedly, cuticle-related genes were the largest functional class in the pupal compound eye DE gene population, indicating differential enrichment in three distinct cuticle components: clear lens facet cuticle, highly melanized cuticle of the “ocular diaphragm”, which surrounds the Tribolium compound eye for internal fortification, and newly identified facet margins of tanned cuticle, possibly enhancing external fortification. Phylogenetic, linkage, and high throughput gene knockdown data suggest that most cuticle proteins (CP) expressed in the Tribolium compound eye stem from the deployment of ancient CP genes. Consistent with this, TcasCPR15, which we identified as the major lens CP gene in Tribolium, is a beetle-specific but pleiotropic paralog of the ancient CPR RR-2 CP gene family. The less abundant yet most likely even more lens-specific TcasCP63 is a member of a sprawling family of non-canonical CP genes, documenting a role of local gene family expansions in the emergence of the Tribolium compound eye CP repertoire. Comparisons with Drosophila and the mosquito Anopheles gambiae reveal a steady turnover of lens-enriched CP genes during insect evolution.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Complex Cuticle Organization of the Tribolium Compound Eye

Chen

Sasikala-Appukuttan

Husain

et al. 2022

Genome Biology and Evolution

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“…At that time, studies of eye color mutants from several different insect species contributed to the “one gene-one enzyme hypothesis” and established an ordered biochemical pathway involved in synthesis of insect pigments 12–17 . Body color in some insects is based on melanin (reviewed in 18 ). However, the brightly colored eye and body colors of many insects are comprised of two other pigment types: ommochromes (named from the Greek omma - eye, and khroma - color) which derive from tryptophan; and pteridines (named for the Greek pteron – wing, based on their first identification from the orange, yellow and white colors in the wings of Pieridae butterflies (see 19 ), which are derived from GTP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Body color in some insects is based on melanin (reviewed in 18 ). However, the brightly colored eye and body colors of many insects are comprised of two other pigment types: ommochromes (named from the Greek omma -eye, and khroma -color) which derive from tryptophan; and pteridines (named for the Greek pteron -wing, based on their first identification from the orange, yellow and white colors in the wings of Pieridae butterflies (see 19 ), which are derived from GTP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genome editing of thevermilionlocus generates a visible eye color marker forOncopeltus fasciatus

Reding

Lê

Pick

2022

Preprint

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Insects display a vast array of eye and body colors. Genes encoding products involved in biosynthesis and deposition of pigments are ideal genetic markers, contributing, for example, to the power of Drosophila genetics. Oncopeltus fasciatus is an emerging model for hemimetabolous insects, a member of the piercing-sucking feeding order Hemiptera, that includes pests and disease vectors. To identify candidate visible markers for O. fasciatus, we used parental and nymphal RNAi to identify genes that altered eye or body color while having no deleterious effects on viability. We selected Of-vermilion for CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, generating three independent loss-of-function mutant lines. These studies mapped Of-vermilion to the X-chromosome, the first assignment of a gene to a chromosome in this species. Of-vermilion homozygotes have bright red, rather than black, eyes and are fully viable and fertile. We used these mutants to verify a role for Of-xdh1, ortholog of Drosophila rosy, in contributing to red pigmentation after RNAi. Rather than wild-type-like red bodies, bugs lacking both vermilion and xdh1 have bright yellow bodies, suggesting that ommochromes and pteridines contribute to O. fasciatus body color. Our studies generated the first gene-based visible marker for O. fasciatus and expanded the genetic toolkit for this model system.

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“…When mutated, these derived CREs should affect the development of fewer traits relative to the inferred function of ancestral CREs.Comparative research examining the evolution of yellow regulation largely supports the CRE-DDC model. Yellow is involved in the melanin biosynthesis pathway in a variety of insect species(Popadić & Tsitlakidou, 2021). GFP reporter assays performed with complete intronic and 5ʹ intergenic sequences of yellow, from six different species of Drosophila in the transregulatory environment of D.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of modular and pleiotropic enhancers

Murugesan

Monteiro

2022

J Exp Zool Pt B

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Cis‐regulatory elements (CREs), or enhancers, are segments of noncoding DNA that regulate the spatial and temporal expression of nearby genes. Sometimes, genes are expressed in more than one tissue, and this can be driven by two main types of CREs: tissue‐specific “modular” CREs, where different CREs drive expression of the gene in the different tissues, or by “pleiotropic” CREs, where the same CRE drives expression in the different tissues. In this perspective, we will discuss some of the ways (i) modular and pleiotropic CREs might originate; (ii) propose that modular CREs might derive from pleiotropic CREs via a process of duplication, degeneration, and complementation (the CRE‐DDC model); and (iii) propose that hotspot loci of evolution are associated with the origin of modular CREs belonging to any gene in a regulatory network.

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Regional patterning and regulation of melanin pigmentation in insects

Cited by 11 publications

References 46 publications

Global Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Complex Cuticle Organization of the Tribolium Compound Eye

Global Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Complex Cuticle Organization of the Tribolium Compound Eye

Genome editing of thevermilionlocus generates a visible eye color marker forOncopeltus fasciatus

Evolution of modular and pleiotropic enhancers

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