Many questions regarding evolution and ontogeny of the insect head remain open. Likewise,
the genetic basis of insect head development is poorly understood. Recently, the …

Background The duplication of genes can occur through various mechanisms and is thought
to make a major contribution to the evolutionary diversification of organisms. There is …

Background The heads of annelids (earthworms, polychaetes, and others) and arthropods (insects,
myriapods, spiders, and others) and the arthropod-related onychophorans (velvet …

Genetic variation is the fuel of evolution, with standing genetic variation especially important
for short-term evolution and local adaptation. To date, studies of spatiotemporal patterns of …

Background The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum has emerged as an important model
organism for the study of gene function in development and physiology, for ecological and …

Tribolium castaneum is a member of the most species-rich eukaryotic order, a powerful model
organism for the study of generalized insect development, and an important pest of stored …

Tribolium castaneum is exceptionally amenable to gene knockdown by RNA interference (RNAi)
which, in this insect, is systemic (spreading throughout the organism and to the next …

Several highly conserved genes play a role in anterior neural plate patterning of vertebrates
and in head and brain patterning of insects. However, head involution in Drosophila has …

Canonical Wnt signaling has been implicated in an AP axis polarizing mechanism in most
animals, despite limited evidence from arthropods. In the long-germ insect, Drosophila, Wnt …

The head gap genes orthodenticle (otd), empty spiracles (ems) and buttonhead (btd) are
required for metamerization and segment specification in Drosophila. We asked whether the …