Functional Analysis of Ultrabithorax in the Silkworm, Bombyx Mori, Using RNAi

Overview

Journal Dev Genes Evol

Specialty Biology

Date 2009 Nov 13

PMID 19908062

Citations 21

Authors

Mika Masumoto

Toshinobu Yaginuma

Teruyuki Niimi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The formation of abdominal appendages in insects is suppressed by the Hox genes Ultrabithorax (Ubx) and abdominal-A (abd-A), but mechanisms of the suppression can differ among species. As the function of Ubx and abd-A has been described in only a few species, more data from various insects are necessary to elucidate the evolutionary transition of regulation on abdominal appendages. We examined the function of Ubx in the silkworm Bombyx mori (Bm-Ubx) by embryonic RNA interference (RNAi). This is the first case in which functional analysis for Ubx is performed in lepidopteran insects. Larvae treated with Bm-Ubx dsRNA displayed an additional pair of thoracic leg-like protuberances in A1, whereas the other abdominal segments had no transformation. Our results suggest that Bm-Ubx is a suppressor of leg development in A1.

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