Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes
Astonishing functional diversity exists among arthropod eyes, yet eye development relies on deeply conserved genes. This phenomenon is best understood for early events, whereas fewer investigations have focused on the influence of later transcriptional regulators on diverse eye organizations and the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1104620/full |
| _version_ | 1797855257410142208 |
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| author | Shubham Rathore Michael Meece Mark Charlton-Perkins Tiffany A. Cook Elke K. Buschbeck |
| author_facet | Shubham Rathore Michael Meece Mark Charlton-Perkins Tiffany A. Cook Elke K. Buschbeck |
| author_sort | Shubham Rathore |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Astonishing functional diversity exists among arthropod eyes, yet eye development relies on deeply conserved genes. This phenomenon is best understood for early events, whereas fewer investigations have focused on the influence of later transcriptional regulators on diverse eye organizations and the contribution of critical support cells, such as Semper cells (SCs). As SCs in Drosophila melanogaster secrete the lens and function as glia, they are critical components of ommatidia. Here, we perform RNAi-based knockdowns of the transcription factor cut (CUX in vertebrates), a marker of SCs, the function of which has remained untested in these cell types. To probe for the conserved roles of cut, we investigate two optically different compound eyes: the apposition optics of D. melanogaster and the superposition optics of the diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus. In both cases, we find that multiple aspects of ocular formation are disrupted, including lens facet organization and optics as well as photoreceptor morphogenesis. Together, our findings support the possibility of a generalized role for SCs in arthropod ommatidial form and function and introduces Cut as a central player in mediating this role. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:20:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-46427ba7b46a41888bd68cc66d899675 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-634X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:20:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-46427ba7b46a41888bd68cc66d8996752023-03-31T05:04:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology2296-634X2023-03-011110.3389/fcell.2023.11046201104620Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyesShubham Rathore0Michael Meece1Mark Charlton-Perkins2Tiffany A. Cook3Elke K. Buschbeck4Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United StatesDivision of Developmental Biology and Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United StatesCenter of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Department of Ophthalmological, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United StatesAstonishing functional diversity exists among arthropod eyes, yet eye development relies on deeply conserved genes. This phenomenon is best understood for early events, whereas fewer investigations have focused on the influence of later transcriptional regulators on diverse eye organizations and the contribution of critical support cells, such as Semper cells (SCs). As SCs in Drosophila melanogaster secrete the lens and function as glia, they are critical components of ommatidia. Here, we perform RNAi-based knockdowns of the transcription factor cut (CUX in vertebrates), a marker of SCs, the function of which has remained untested in these cell types. To probe for the conserved roles of cut, we investigate two optically different compound eyes: the apposition optics of D. melanogaster and the superposition optics of the diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus. In both cases, we find that multiple aspects of ocular formation are disrupted, including lens facet organization and optics as well as photoreceptor morphogenesis. Together, our findings support the possibility of a generalized role for SCs in arthropod ommatidial form and function and introduces Cut as a central player in mediating this role.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1104620/fullvisual system developmentinvertebratesopticsconserved gene networkscompound eyescone cells |
| spellingShingle | Shubham Rathore Michael Meece Mark Charlton-Perkins Tiffany A. Cook Elke K. Buschbeck Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology visual system development invertebrates optics conserved gene networks compound eyes cone cells |
| title | Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| title_full | Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| title_fullStr | Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| title_short | Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| title_sort | probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes |
| topic | visual system development invertebrates optics conserved gene networks compound eyes cone cells |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1104620/full |
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