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Title: Wing serial homologues and the diversification of insect outgrowths: insights from the pupae of scarab beetles
Modification of serially homologous structures is a common avenue towards functional innovation in developmental evolution, yet ancestral affinities among serial homologues may be obscured as structure-specific modifications accumulate over time. We sought to assess the degree of homology to wings of three types of body wall projections commonly observed in scarab beetles: (i) the dorsomedial support structures found on the second and third thoracic segments of pupae, (ii) the abdominal support structures found bilaterally in most abdominal segments of pupae, and (iii) the prothoracic horns which depending on species and sex may be restricted to pupae or also found in adults. We functionally investigated 14 genes within, as well as two genes outside, the canonical wing gene regulatory network to compare and contrast their role in the formation of each of the three presumed wing serial homologues. We found 11 of 14 wing genes to be functionally required for the proper formation of lateral and dorsal support structures, respectively, and nine for the formation of prothoracic horns. At the same time, we document multiple instances of divergence in gene function across our focal structures. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that dorsal and lateral support structures as well as prothoracic horns share a developmental origin with insect wings. Our findings suggest that the morphological and underlying gene regulatory diversification of wing serial homologues across species, life stages and segments has contributed significantly to the extraordinary diversity of arthropod appendages and outgrowths.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1901680
NSF-PAR ID:
10219408
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume:
288
Issue:
1943
ISSN:
0962-8452
Page Range / eLocation ID:
20202828
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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