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Homologous patterns in the embryonic development of the peripheral nervous system in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria and the fly Drosophila melanogaster

Meier, T. and Chabaud, F. and Reichert, H.. (1991) Homologous patterns in the embryonic development of the peripheral nervous system in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria and the fly Drosophila melanogaster. Development, Vol. 112, H. 1. pp. 241-253.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5250971

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Abstract

To determine the generality of developmental mechanisms involved in the construction of the insect nervous system, the embryonic development of the peripheral nervous system in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria was characterized at the level of identified neurons and nerve branches and then compared to that previously described from the fly Drosophila melanogaster. For this, immunocytochemistry using a neuron-specific antibody was carried out on staged grasshopper embryos. Our results show that initially a simple peripheral nerve scaffolding is established in each segment of the animal. This scaffolding consists of a pair of intersegmental nerves that are formed by identified afferent and efferent pioneer neurons and a pair of segmental nerves that are formed by afferent pioneers situated in limb buds. Subsequently, identified sets of sensory neurons differentiate in a stereotyped spatiotemporal pattern in dorsal, lateral and ventral clusters in each segment and project their axons onto these nerves. Although segment-specific differences exist, serial homologs of the developing nerves and sensory neurons can be identified. A comparison of these results with those obtained from Drosophila shows that virtually the same pattern of peripheral nerves and sensory structures is formed in both species. This indicates that the construction of the peripheral nervous system in extremely divergent modern insects relies on conserved developmental mechanisms that evolved in ancestral insects over 300 million years ago.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Former Organization Units Biozentrum > Molecular Zoology (Reichert)
UniBasel Contributors:Reichert, Heinrich
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Company of Biologists
ISSN:0950-1991
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
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Last Modified:22 Mar 2012 14:19
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:16

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