Abstracts - Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft

34 Developmental Biology SymposiumO DB.7 (Mo) - ENNO-dependent cGMP is involved in formation of the antennal lobes duringmetamorphosis of the sphinx moth Manduca sextaWolf Huetteroth, Sandra Utz, Joachim SchachtnerAnimal Physiology, FB 17, Philipps-University of MarburgThe de novo formation of the adult antennal lobe (AL) during pupal development of Manduca sextasubserves as a well-established model for how and when a sensory system builds its correct connections.The main focus at this is on the assembly of the functional neuropilar subunits of theAL, the so-called glomeruli, spherical structures arranged around a central coarse neuropil. Theirestablishment by olfactory sensory neurons (OSN), projection neurons (PN), local neurons (LN),and centrifugal neurons (CN) can roughly be divided in three phases: preparation, differentiation,and maturation. These phases mirror the rise and fall of the global 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) titerin the hemolymph and each phase corresponds to about a third of pupal development. Earlier studiesreport a transient, OSN-activity-dependent rise in cGMP-immunoreactive LN during phase II vianitric oxide (NO), which correlates with the main wave of synaptogenesis in the AL glomeruli. Herewe examine this rise in cGMP-immunoreactive cells as well as sGC-immunoreactivity in detail andreport evidence for a possible positive involvement of the nitric oxide / soluble guanylyl cyclase(sGC) / cGMP-pathway in synaptogenesis in the developing AL of Manduca sexta.O DB.8 (Mo) - ENThe damselfly Ischnura elegans (Vand. 1823): A “non” model organism to study Hoxgene evolution at the base of winged insectsSara Khadjeh 1 , Heike Hadrys 21ITZ, Ecology & Evolution, Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover; 2 Department of Ecologyand Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, USAHox genes are known to play important roles in the specification of segment identity in highermetazoans, and have been studied in detail in representatives of all arthropod classes in order tounderstand the evolution of segment diversification. However, within the most diverse group, thewinged insects, the available data are currently restricted to a few derived model organisms and areespecially lacking in basal pterygote orders. Odonata are one of the most basal and oldest wingedinsects. Their system of flight muscles and genital morphology are unique among animals. Hence,the study of Hox genes in odonates promises to gain insights into the question of how these morphologicaltraits evolved. We established the damselfly Ischnura elegans as a new “non” model systemto study Hox gene evolution at the base of pterygotes. As a basic prerequisite, we optimized culturingof the complete life cycle of I. elegans under laboratory conditions in order to document the lifecycle in vivo. Furthermore, six different Hox gene fragments of I. elegans were isolated and identified.Moreover, we were able to characterize 3’ cDNA ends of the Hox genes Sex combs reduced andUltrabithorax via RACE and carried out temporal expression analysis of one of the Hox genes indeveloping embryos. In summary, the damselfly Ischnura elegans promises great potential to serveas the first “non” model organism for the study of Hox gene evolution and bauplan transitions at thebase of pterygote insects.