Notch signaling patterns head horn shape in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
Notch signaling patterns head horn shape in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
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DOI：
10.1007/s00427-020-00645-w
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发表时间：
2020-05-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Hu, Yonggang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Crabtree, Jordan R.;Macagno, Anna L. M.;Hu, Yonggang
大小和形状构成形态描述的基本方面。然而，虽然性状大小的发育遗传基础，特别是在尺度关系方面，人们越来越了解，但形状的基础仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们研究了 Notch 信号通路在指导甲虫角形状方面的潜在功能，甲虫角是一种高度多样化且进化新颖的形态结构。我们将重点放在牛头粪甲虫 Onthophagus taurus 上，因为该物种的雄性中存在各种各样的角尺寸和形状，以便评估 Notch 信号在角形状规范以及异速生长调节形状变化中的潜在功能。利用 RNA 干扰介导的 Notch 及其配体的转录耗竭，我们记录了 Notch 信号在一般附属物形成中的高度保守的作用。通过将我们的功能遗传方法与几何形态分析相结合，我们发现Notch信号适度但持续地影响角形状，并且对于小型、中等大小和大型雄性的角的影响不同。我们的结果表明，在头角形成过程中，Notch 信号的功能可能在不同的雄性形态中以复杂的方式变化，并强调了在面对显着的异速变异时，整合功能遗传和几何形态测量方法在分析微妙但具有生物学重要意义的表型方面的力量。
Size and shape constitute fundamental aspects in the description of morphology. Yet while the developmental-genetic underpinnings of trait size, in particular with regard to scaling relationships, are increasingly well understood, those of shape remain largely elusive. Here we investigate the potential function of the Notch signaling pathway in instructing the shape of beetle horns, a highly diversified and evolutionarily novel morphological structure. We focused on the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus due to the wide range of horn sizes and shapes present among males in this species, in order to assess the potential function of Notch signaling in the specification of horn shape alongside the regulation of shape changes with allometry. Using RNA interference-mediated transcript depletion of Notch and its ligands, we document a highly conserved role of Notch signaling in general appendage formation. By integrating our functional genetic approach with a geometric morphometric analysis, we find that Notch signaling moderately but consistently affects horn shape, and does so differently for the horns of minor, intermediate-sized, and major males. Our results suggest that the function of Notch signaling during head horn formation may vary in a complex manner across male morphs, and highlights the power of integrating functional genetic and geometric morphometric approaches in analyzing subtle but nevertheless biologically important phenotypes in the face of significant allometric variation.