Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2001
Publication Source
Journal of Biosciences
Abstract
Lepidopteran insects present a complex organization of appendages which develop by various mechanisms. In the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, a pair of meso- and meta-thoracic discs located on either side in the larvae gives rise to the corresponding fore- and hind-wings of the adult. These discs do not experience massive cell rearrangements during metamorphosis and display the adult wing vein pattern. We have analysed wing development in B. mori by two approaches, viz., expression of patterning genes in larval wing discs, and regulatory capacities of larval discs following explantation or perturbation. Expression of Nubbin is seen all over the presumptive wing blade domains unlike in Drosophila, where it is confined to the hinge and the wing pouch. Excision of meso- and meta-thoracic discs during the larval stages resulted in emergence of adult moths lacking the corresponding wings without any loss of thoracic tissues suggesting independent origin of wing and thoracic primordia. The expression of wingless and distal-less along the dorsal/ventral margin in wing discs correlated well with their expression profile in adult Drosophila wings. Partially excised wing discs did not show in situ regeneration or duplication suggesting their early differentiation. The presence of adult wing vein patterns discernible in larval wing discs and the patterns of marker gene expression as well as the inability of these discs to regulate growth suggested that wing differentiation is achieved early in B. mori. The timings of morphogenetic events are different and the wing discs behave like presumptive wing buds opening out as wing blades in B. mori unlike evagination of only the pouch region as wing blades seen in Drosophila.
Inclusive pages
167-177
ISBN/ISSN
0250-5991
Document Version
Published Version
Copyright
Copyright © 2001, Indian Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Indian Academy of Sciences
Volume
26
Peer Reviewed
yes
Issue
2
eCommons Citation
Kango-Singh, Madhuri; Singh, Amit; and Gopinathan, K. P., "The Wings of Bombyx mori Develop from Larval Discs Exhibiting an Early Differentiated State: A Preliminary Report" (2001). Biology Faculty Publications. 121.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bio_fac_pub/121
Included in
Biology Commons, Cell Biology Commons, Developmental Biology Commons, Entomology Commons, Genetics Commons, Molecular Genetics Commons, Other Cell and Developmental Biology Commons
Comments
The publisher policies permit the inclusion of the published version of the article in the repository. Permission documentation is on file.