Hox genes establish the anterior-posterior axis. The Hox gene Antennapedia is expressed in the thoracic region but has previously been reported to be dispensable for wing development. Now, Xiaoling Tong and colleagues find that Antennapedia is indeed required for wing development in the silkworm (Bombyx mori), in Drosophila and in Tribolium. The authors show that BmAntp is expressed at low levels in larvae, but expression increases through late larval and pupal stages. This expression profile correlates with their observation that wing discs from the main larval stage from BmAntp+/– mutants are comparable with wild type, whereas wing discs from larvae at later stages display dysplasia. Furthermore, BmAntp+/- adults have small wrinkled wings. To understand the mechanism by which Antennapedia regulates wing development, the authors use in vitro assays to show that BmAntp binds directly to the upstream regions of shade, which encodes an ecdysone pathway enzyme, and the cuticular protein-encoding gene CPH28, both of which are important for wing development. The researchers find that RNAi knockdown of Antennapedia in late larval and pupal development also results in defective wing development in both Tribolium and Drosophila. Together, these data indicate a conserved role for Antennapedia in wing development.
Winging it with Antennapedia
Winging it with Antennapedia. Development 15 January 2022; 149 (2): e149_e0203. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Biologists @ 100 - join us in Liverpool in March 2025

We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the Spring Meetings of the BSCB and the BSDB, the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and a DMM programme on antimicrobial resistance. Find out more and register by 28 February 2025 to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues

Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology

In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
In preprints
Did you know that Development publishes perspectives on recent preprints? These articles help our readers navigate the ever-growing preprint literature. We welcome proposals for ‘In preprints’ articles, so please do get in touch if you’d like to contribute.