title: Do teashirt family genes specify trunk identity? Insights from the single tiptop/teashirt homolog of Tribolium castaneum.
abstract: The Drosophila teashirt gene acts in concert with the homeotic selector (Hox) genes to specify trunk (thorax and abdomen) identity. There has been speculation that this trunk-specifying function might be very ancient, dating back to the common ancestor of insects and vertebrates. However, other evidence suggests that the role of teashirt in trunk identity is not well conserved even within the Insecta. To address this issue, we have analyzed the function of Tc-tiotsh, the lone teashirt family member in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Although Tc-tiotsh is important for aspects of both embryonic and imaginal development including some trunk features, we find no evidence that it acts as a trunk identity gene. We discuss this finding in the context of recent insights into the evolution and function of the Drosophila teashirt family genes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. tshippy@ksu.edu
authors.forename: Teresa D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Shippy
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tomoyasu
authors.forename: Wensheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Robin E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Denell
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000502:physiology*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013909:Thorax / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014231:Tribolium / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C496672:tio protein, Drosophila; C066830:tsh protein, Drosophila