TY - JOUR
T1 - Periodic Wnt1 expression in response to ecdysteroid generates twin-spot markings on caterpillars
AU - Yamaguchi, Junichi
AU - Banno, Yutaka
AU - Mita, Kazuei
AU - Yamamoto, Kimiko
AU - Ando, Toshiya
AU - Fujiwara, Haruhiko
N1 - Funding Information:
Experimental animals. The L mutant strains of B. mori, g01 and g03 were obtained from the Kyushu University and the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (Kobuchizawa). The WT B. mori strains (p50 and N4) and B. mandarina were provided by Drs Toru Shimada and Takashi Kiuchi (University of Tokyo). Preservation of the silkworm strains at Kyushu University and University of Tokyo were supported by the National Bio-Resource Project (NBRP) of the MEXT, Japan. Specimens of P. machaon were collected in a field.
Funding Information:
We thank Junko Narukawa for her help with the practical technique of linkage analysis and Kyoko Chagi for technical support of in situ hybridization. We also thank to T. Kojima and R. Futahashi for helpful comments. This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas ‘Comparative Genomics’ from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan 20017007 (to H.F.), Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research ‘Genome Science’ 221S0002 (to H.F.), Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research 22128005 (to H.F.), and the Programme for Promotion of Basic Research Activities for Innovative Bioscience (to H.F.).
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Among various pigmentation patterns on caterpillars, sequential spot markings are often observed and used for aposematic colouration. In contrast to adult wings, caterpillar cuticle markings are repeatedly generated at each moult, but little is known about how the patterns are formed and maintained periodically. Here we focus on a silkworm mutant, multi lunar (L), with twin-spot markings on sequential segments. Positional cloning of L and expression analyses reveal that cis-regulatory change in Wnt1 is responsible for the spot patterning. The periodical upregulation of Wnt1 in response to ecdysteroid is detected only in epidermis within spot marking area. We verify by transgenic expression that the ectopic Wnt1 induces the additional pigmentation. Furthermore, the association of Wnt1 expression with spot markings is observed in the wild Bombyx species and swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon. Taken together, we anticipate that periodic Wnt1 expression may contribute to natural variations of spot patterning on caterpillar cuticle.
AB - Among various pigmentation patterns on caterpillars, sequential spot markings are often observed and used for aposematic colouration. In contrast to adult wings, caterpillar cuticle markings are repeatedly generated at each moult, but little is known about how the patterns are formed and maintained periodically. Here we focus on a silkworm mutant, multi lunar (L), with twin-spot markings on sequential segments. Positional cloning of L and expression analyses reveal that cis-regulatory change in Wnt1 is responsible for the spot patterning. The periodical upregulation of Wnt1 in response to ecdysteroid is detected only in epidermis within spot marking area. We verify by transgenic expression that the ectopic Wnt1 induces the additional pigmentation. Furthermore, the association of Wnt1 expression with spot markings is observed in the wild Bombyx species and swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon. Taken together, we anticipate that periodic Wnt1 expression may contribute to natural variations of spot patterning on caterpillar cuticle.
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U2 - 10.1038/ncomms2778
DO - 10.1038/ncomms2778
M3 - Article
C2 - 23673642
AN - SCOPUS:84878729148
VL - 4
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
M1 - 1857
ER -