The Tribolium homeotic gene Abdominal is homologous to abdominal-A of the Drosophila bithorax complex.
The Abdominal gene is a member of the single homeotic complex of the beetle, Tribolium castaneum. An integrated developmental genetic and molecular analysis shows that Abdominal is homologous to the abdominal-A gene of the bithorax complex of Drosophila. abdominal-A mutant embryos display strong homeotic transformations of the anterior abdomen (parasegments 7-9) to PS6, whereas developmental commitments in the posterior abdomen depend primarily on Abdominal-B. In beetle embryos lacking Abdominal function, parasegments throughout the abdomen are transformed to PS6. This observation demonstrates the general functional significance of parasegmental expression among insects and shows that the control of determinative decisions in the posterior abdomen by homeotic selector genes has undergone considerable evolutionary modification.
Stuart
J J
JJ
USDA, ARS, US Grain Marketing Research Laboratory, Manhattan, Kansas 66502.
Brown
S J
SJ
Beeman
R W
RW
Denell
R E
RE
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010641:Phenotype; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014231:Tribolium / Q000235:genetics*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C066591:abd-A protein, Drosophila; D004247:DNA