The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera): A Model for Studies of Development and Pest Biology
The Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera): A Model for Studies of Development and Pest Biology
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DOI：
10.1101/pdb.emo126
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发表时间：
2010-01-01
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Trauner, Jochen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Brown, Susan J.;Shippy, Teresa D.;Trauner, Jochen
赤拟谷盗是一种小型、低维护的甲虫，已成为研究发育进化的复杂模型系统，并且在基本生物学问题的功能遗传分析方面补充（在某些情况下，甚至是竞争对手）果蝇。尽管谷盗和果蝇都是全变态昆虫，但它们在幼虫和成虫的形态上有根本的不同。即使是普遍保守的发育特征，例如身体分割，也是通过完全不同的方式实现的。因此，比较这两种昆虫的发育机制可以解决许多有关形态和其他性状进化的有趣问题。 Tribolium可用的遗传工具包括可见分子标记的遗传图谱、使致命突变在纯种种群中达到平衡的染色体重排、基于转座子的转化系统、完整且带注释的基因组序列以及系统性RNA干扰(RNAi)，这使得有可能敲除后代或注射动物的任何组织中的任何给定基因，甚至特定的剪接变体。在不同发育阶段失活基因功能为研究胚胎后发育以及幼虫和成虫生理学提供了新的机会，包括激素控制、宿主-寄生虫相互作用和杀虫剂抗性。
Tribolium castaneum is a small, low-maintenance beetle that has emerged as a sophisticated model system for studying the evolution of development and that complements (in some cases, even rivals) Drosophila for functional genetic analysis of basic biological questions. Although Tribolium and Drosophila are both holometabolous insects, they differ fundamentally in larval and adult morphology. Even generally conserved developmental features, such as body segmentation, are achieved by quite different means. Thus, comparison of developmental mechanisms between these two insects can address many interesting questions concerning the evolution of morphology and other characters. Genetic tools available for Tribolium include genetic maps for visible and molecular markers, chromosomal rearrangements that enable lethal mutations to be balanced in true-breeding stocks, transposon-based transformation systems, a completed and annotated genome sequence, and systemic RNA interference (RNAi), which makes it possible to knock down any given gene and even particular splice variants in the offspring or in any tissue of the injected animal. Inactivating gene functions at various developmental stages provides new opportunities to investigate post-embryonic development, as well as larval and adult physiology, including hormonal control, host-parasite interactions, and pesticide resistance.