Open AccessChinmo is the larval member of the molecular trinity that directs Drosophila metamorphosis
Author(s) -
James W. Truman,
Lynn M. Riddiford
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2201071119
Subject(s) - metamorphosis , larva , biology , ecdysone , pupa , chromatin , transcription factor , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , zoology , ecology , evolutionary biology
Significance The genome of insects with complete metamorphosis contains the instructions for making three distinct body forms, that of the larva, of the pupa, and of the adult. However, the molecular mechanisms by which each gene set is called forth and stably expressed are poorly understood. A half century ago, it was proposed that there was a set of three master genes that inhibited each other’s expression and enabled the expression of genes for each respective stage. We show that the transcription factorchinmo is essential for maintaining the larval stage inDrosophila , and with two other regulatory genes,broad andE93 , makes up the trinity of mutually repressive master genes that underlie insect metamorphosis.