In Drosophila, anteroposterior (AP) axis formation depends on a gradient of the maternal transcription factor Bicoid. But bicoid is unique to higher dipterans, so what patterns the AP axis in other insects? In the short-germ beetle Tribolium castaneum, one hypothesis is that the head gap gene orthodenticle (Tc-otd) substitutes for bicoid. However, on p. 1853, Michael Schoppmeier and colleagues unexpectedly report that the role of Tc-otd in AP blastoderm patterning depends on its impact on dorsoventral (DV) patterning. RNAi depletion of Tc-otd produces lateralised embryos, they report, by reducing the expression of short gastrulation (Tc-sog), which normally establishes the DV Decapentaplegic gradient. In addition, an anterior shift of the jaw segment primordia in Tc-otd-depleted embryos is largely due to reduced expression of Tc-zen-1, another DV patterning gene. Neither Tc-sog nor Tc-zen-1 is likely to receive Tc-Otd gradient-mediated positional information, note the researchers. Instead, the blastoderm-patterning function of Tc-Otd probably depends on its initially ubiquitous maternal expression. Its early patterning role, therefore, has little in common with Bicoid.
Orthodenticle heads Tribolium development sideways
Orthodenticle heads Tribolium development sideways. Development 1 June 2010; 137 (11): e1103. doi:
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