DATE2022.02.22 #Press Releases

Successful identification of a group of genes essential for dragonfly metamorphosis from larva to adult

Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.

-Uncovering new functions of transcription factors that regulate insect metamorphosis.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo

Tokyo University of Agriculture

Summary

Dr. Ryo Nihashi, Senior Staff, Dr. Minoru Moriyama, Senior Staff, and Dr. Takema Fukatsu, Chief Scientist (concurrently Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo) of the Research Group for Symbiotic Evolutionary Mechanisms, Bioprocess Research Division, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), are joined by Dr. Kenta Okude, former Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo (at the time), and Dr. Yoshihiro Nakamura, former Department of Biological Sciences, AIST. (currently JSPS Research Fellow, Ecological Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics), Professor Shunsuke Yajima, Faculty Council of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, and Dr. Reika Kawahara (Miki), former Postdoctoral Researcher, Biological Resources Genome Analysis Center, have analyzed genes necessary for dragonfly metamorphosis from larva to adult and identified three important transcription factors. We identified three important transcription factors. They found that one of these transcription factors, which determines "chrysalis" traits in other insects, controls both genes that produce larval and adult traits in dragonflies, which do not have a chrysalis stage. This is an important achievement in elucidating the metamorphosis responsible for insect diversity.

The results of this research will be published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America the week of February 21, 2022 (EST). The article will be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America the week of February 21 (EST).

Figure: Larvae (yagos) and adults of the green damselfly, A. damselfly: metamorphosis significantly changes their traits.

For more information, please visit the website of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST ).