Gene duplication at the achaete-scute complex and morphological complexity of the peripheral nervous system in Diptera.
The number of achaete-scute genes increased during insect evolution, particularly in the Diptera lineage. Sequence comparison indicates that the four achaete-scute genes of Drosophila result from three independent duplication events. After duplication, the new genes acquired individual expression patterns but, in Drosophila, their products can compensate for one another, which raises the question: why retain all four genes? The complexity of the spatial expression of these genes on the notum increased in the lineage leading to the higher Diptera, allowing the development of stereotyped bristle patterns. This probably coincided in time with gene duplication events, raising the possibility that an increase in gene copy number might have provided the flexibility necessary for more complex transcriptional regulation.
Dept of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Nick
N
Skaer
Daniela
D
Pistillo
Jean-Michel
JM
Gibert
Pietro
P
Lio
Corinna
C
Wülbeck
Pat
P
Simpson
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004175:Diptera / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018628:Gene Dosage; D020440:Gene Duplication; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017933:Peripheral Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C089199:ac protein, Drosophila; C089197:sc protein, Drosophila