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Gene expression patterns determine the differential numbers of dorsocentral macrochaetes between Musca domestica and Drosophila melanogaster
Author(s) -
Liang Qing,
Peng Tingting,
Sun Boyuan,
Tu Jianbo,
Cheng Xingyi,
Tian Yuanliangzi,
Fan Xiaolan,
Yang Deying,
Gaur Uma,
Yang Mingyao
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
genesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.093
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1526-968X
pISSN - 1526-954X
DOI - 10.1002/dvg.23258
Subject(s) - bristle , biology , drosophila melanogaster , melanogaster , gene , genetics , musca , gene expression , housefly , drosophila (subgenus) , evolutionary biology , larva , botany , brush , electrical engineering , engineering
The evolutionary differences in sensory bristle patterns on the thorax of dipterans are an excellent model for studying the patterns of evolutionary development. We observed that Drosophila melanogaster has two pairs of the large bristles, called macrochaetes, in the dorsocentral (DC) region of the notum, while Musca domestica retains six DC macrochaetes. To explore possible mechanism by which these two dipteran species have different numbers of DC bristles, we compared the corresponding protein sequences, the gene expression levels and the spatial expression patterns of five genes ( scute, pnr, ush, hairy, and emc ) for bristle development between two species. We also checked the overexpression of scute and emc in transgenic flies. The results demonstrated a strong conservation of five protein sequences between these two species. The mRNA expression of the five genes differed significantly between D. melanogaster and M. domestica . The gene expression patterns exhibited a species‐specific pattern during the larval development stage. It suggests that the function of these genes has been conserved in regulating the development of macrocheates between housefly and fruit fly, whereas the gene expression levels, especially spatial expression patterns lead to species‐specificity in DC bristles.