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

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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.