FOR 1234: iBeetle: Functional Genomics of Insect Embryogenesis and Metamorphosis

赤粉甲虫（Tribolium castaneum）已发展成为仅次于黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）的主要昆虫模式系统。强大的反向遗传学和可用的基因组序列使我们能够针对不同的生物学问题进行公正的全基因组RNA干扰筛选。通过这个研究单元，我们打算克服目前在果蝇以外的节肢动物中流行的候选基因方法，并旨在进一步将Tribolium转化为一个强大的初级模型系统，适合于昆虫发育、进化、生理和害虫防治的基础研究。(1)我们的目标是为遗传分析开辟昆虫研究的其他领域，这些领域目前被忽视，要么是因为果蝇的情况过于衍生（例如，幼体的头部），要么是因为感兴趣的器官不存在于果蝇中（例如，防御腺），要么是因为它们需要在胚胎后阶段选择性地使基因失活（例如，蜕变）-这在Tribolium中很容易通过系统RNAi实现。(2)我们的目标是鉴定在果蝇中没有（或不同）功能的昆虫生物学必需基因。过去在Tribolium上的研究表明，在被广泛研究的过程中，如分割、腿发育和轴形成等关键成分没有被发现，因为它们不参与果蝇的这些过程。(3)我们的目标是使Tribolium成为一个有效的互补筛选平台，可以快速识别保守过程的组成部分，这些组成部分在其他模型系统中不容易识别，但一旦在Tribolium中识别出来，就可以在已建立的模型系统中进行详细研究（例如，果蝇的肌肉发育或不对称细胞分裂）。我们的承诺是尽快与社区分享增强基因组注释的结果和表型数据。

The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum has developed into a major insect model system second only to Drosophila melanogaster. The powerful reverse genetics and the available genomic sequence allow us to conduct an unbiased genome-wide RNA interference screen targeting diverse biological questions. With this Research Unit we intend to overcome the currently prevailing, candidate gene approach in arthropods outside of Drosophila, and aim at further transforming Tribolium into a powerful primary model system suited for basic research in insect development, evolution, physiology and pest control. (1) We aim to open additional fields of insect research to genetic analysis, fields that are currently neglected either because the Drosophila situation is too derived (e.g. involuted larval head), because the organs of interest are not present in Drosophila (e.g. defensive glands), or because they require the selective inactivation of genes at postembryonic stages (e.g. metamorphosis) - which in Tribolium is readily achieved through systemic RNAi. (2) We aim to identify genes essential for insect biology, which have no (or different) functions in Drosophila. Past work in Tribolium has revealed that crucial components of intensely studied processes like segmentation, leg development and axis formation have escaped detection because they are not involved in these processes in Drosophila. (3) We aim to make Tribolium an efficient complementary screening platform that allows to rapidly identify components of conserved processes, which are not as easily identifiable in other model systems but which - once identified in Tribolium - can then be studied in detail back in the established model system (e.g. muscle development or asymmetric cell division in Drosophila). It is our commitment to share with the community the results of the enhanced genome annotation and the phenotypic data as soon as possible.