title: 'De-evolution' of Drosophila toward a more generic mode of axis patterning.
abstract: The genetics of the establishment of the primary axes of the early embryo have been worked out in great detail Drosophila. However, evidence has accumulated that Drosophila employs a mode of patterning that is not shared with most insects. In particular, the use of the morphogenic gradient of the Bicoid homeoprotein appears to be a novel addition to the fly developmental toolkit. To better understand the ancestral mode of patterning that is probably more widely used by insects, several groups have used Evo-Devo approaches as well as sophisticated genetic manipulations of Drosophila to achieve some form of 'de-evolution' of this derived insect. Genetic manipulations of the beetle Tribolium and the wasp Nasonia have validated most of these results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, New York University, New York 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desplan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017344:Genes, Insect; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D034622:RNA Interference; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014231:Tribolium / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C061245:hb protein, Drosophila