Ancestral Notch-mediated segmentation revealed in the cockroach Periplaneta americana

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0804093105
• Publication Date: 2008-10-17T00:55:16Z
• Authors: J. I. Pueyo; R. Lanfear; J. P. Couso
• Keywords: Embryo, Nonmammalian; periplaneta americana; priority jou Arthropod; Molecular Sequence Data; Hairy gene; 590; embryo; cockroach; Keywords: Notch receptor; arthropod; evolution; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Animals; Periplaneta; fluorescence in situ hybridization; Body Patterning; nonhuman; Base Sequence; Receptors, Notch; article; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Membrane Proteins; embryo development; nucleotide sequence; Segmental clock; Biological Evolution; embryo culture; Repressor Proteins; female; immunohistochemistry; Insect Proteins; insect

Through division into segments, animal bodies can reach higher degrees of complexity and functionality during development evolution. The segmentation mechanisms insects vertebrates have been seen as fundamentally different at the anatomical molecular levels, consequently, independently evolved. However, this conclusion was mostly based on observations derived such Drosophila . We cloned Delta , Notch hairy genes in cockroach Periplaneta americana a basal insect with short germ-band development, carried out functional assays activity its segmentation. Our results show that, more insects, involves similar developmental mechanism to that vertebrates, including induction segment formation by cyclic segmental stripes expression. This result indicates Notch-mediated is ancestral together previous literature [Stollewerk A, Schoppmeier M, Damen WGM (2003) Nature 423:863–865], arthropods well. similarity vertebrate might suggest an ancient inherited from common ancestor vertebrates.