The Wnt and Delta-Notch signalling pathways interact to direct pair-rule gene expression via caudal during segment addition in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum.

In short-germ arthropods, posterior segments are added sequentially from a segment addition zone (SAZ) during embryogenesis. Studies in spiders such as Parasteatoda tepidariorum have provided insights into the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying segment addition, and revealed that Wnt8 is required for dynamic Delta (Dl) expression associated with the formation of new segments. However, it remains unclear how these pathways interact during SAZ formation and segment addition. Here, we show that Delta-Notch signalling is required for Wnt8 expression in posterior SAZ cells, but represses the expression of this Wnt gene in anterior SAZ cells. We also found that these two signalling pathways are required for the expression of the spider orthologues of even-skipped (eve) and runt-1 (run-1), at least in part via caudal (cad). Moreover, it appears that dynamic expression of eve in this spider does not require a feedback loop with run-1, as is found in the pair-rule circuit of the beetle Tribolium Taken together, our results suggest that the development of posterior segments in Parasteatoda is directed by dynamic interactions between Wnt8 and Delta-Notch signalling that are read out by cad, which is necessary but probably not sufficient to regulate the expression of eve and run-1 Our study therefore provides new insights towards better understanding the evolution and developmental regulation of segmentation in other arthropods, including insects.

The house spider genome reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication during arachnid evolution.

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 increasing evidence for a large-scale duplication of genes in some chelicerate lineages including two rounds of whole genome duplication (WGD) in horseshoe crabs. To investigate this further, we sequenced and analyzed the genome of the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. RESULTS: We found pervasive duplication of both coding and non-coding genes in this spider, including two clusters of Hox genes. Analysis of synteny conservation across the P. tepidariorum genome suggests that there has been an ancient WGD in spiders. Comparison with the genomes of other chelicerates, including that of the newly sequenced bark scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus, suggests that this event occurred in the common ancestor of spiders and scorpions, and is probably independent of the WGDs in horseshoe crabs. Furthermore, characterization of the sequence and expression of the Hox paralogs in P. tepidariorum suggests that many have been subject to neo-functionalization and/or sub-functionalization since their duplication. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that spiders and scorpions are likely the descendants of a polyploid ancestor that lived more than 450 MYA. Given the extensive morphological diversity and ecological adaptations found among these animals, rivaling those of vertebrates, our study of the ancient WGD event in Arachnopulmonata provides a new comparative platform to explore common and divergent evolutionary outcomes of polyploidization events across eukaryotes.

Exploring developmental gene toolkit and associated pathways in a potential new model crustacean using transcriptomic analysis.

The crustaceans are one of the largest, most diverse, and most successful groups of invertebrates. The diversity among the crustaceans is also reflected in embryonic development models. However, the molecular genetics that regulates embryonic development is not known in those crustaceans that have a short germ-band development with superficial cleavage, such as Macrobrachium olfersi. This species is a freshwater decapod and has great potential to become a model for developmental biology, as well as for evolutionary and environmental studies. To obtain sequence data of M. olfersi from an embryonic developmental perspective, we performed de novo assembly and annotation of the embryonic transcriptome. Using a pooling strategy of total RNA, paired-end Illumina sequencing, and assembly with multiple k-mers, a total of 25,636,097 pair reads were generated. In total, 99,751 unigenes were identified, and 20,893 of these returned a Blastx hit. KEGG pathway analysis mapped a total of 6866 unigenes related to 129 metabolic pathways. In general, 21,845 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology (GO) categories: molecular function (19,604), cellular components (10,254), and biological processes (13,841). Of these, 2142 unigenes were assigned to the developmental process category. More specifically, a total of 35 homologs of embryonic development toolkit genes were identified, which included maternal effect (one gene), gap (six), pair-rule (six), segment polarity (seven), Hox (four), Wnt (eight), and dorsoventral patterning genes (three). In addition, genes of developmental pathways were found, including TGF-ß, Wnt, Notch, MAPK, Hedgehog, Jak-STAT, VEGF, and ecdysteroid-inducible nuclear receptors. RT-PCR analysis of eight genes related to embryonic development from gastrulation to late morphogenesis/organogenesis confirmed the applicability of the transcriptome analysis.