MEMBERS OF THE GROUP (Active in 2018)
Predoctoral Researcher Silvia Chafino
Research Technician Josefa Cruz
Master Student Roser Salvia
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018
Our lab is interested in understanding when an immature organism decides to become adult, and how such transformation is controlled, using the metamorphic transition in insects as the experimental model. During 2018, our group: (1) has characterized the critical role of the “Metamorphic Gene Network”, formed by the E93, Kr-h1 and Br-C genes, in the evolution of neoteny in the strepsipteran Xenos vesparum; (2) has characterized how the timing of metamorphic transition is regulated in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum; and (3) how the metamorphic process is regulated in the tracheal system and the wings of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster.
2018 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Chafino S, López-Escardó D, Benelli G, Kovac H, Casacuberta E, Franch-Marro X, Kathirithamby J, Martín D. Differential expression of the adult specifier E93 in the strepsipteran Xenos vesparum Rossi suggests a role in female neoteny. Scientific Reports. 2018 Sep 21;8(1):14176. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32611-y.
Campbell K, Lebreton G, Franch-Marro X, Casanova J. Differential roles of the Drosophila EMT-inducing transcription factors Snail and Serpent in driving primary tumour growth. PLoS Genetics. 2018 Feb 8;14(2): e1007167. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007167.
De Miguel, C., Cruz, J., Martín, D. and Franch-Marro, X. (2018). Dual role of Bnl/Fgf signaling in proliferation and endoreplication of Drosophila tracheal adult progenitor cells. bioRxiv.
2018 FUNDED PROJECTS
Origin of insect metamorphosis: dissection and evolution of the metamorphic gene toolkit. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. (Programa Biodiversidad, Ciencias de la Tierra y Cambio Global). CGL2014-55786-P.
Genòmica Funcional i Evolució. Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR). Generalitat de Catalunya. 2017-SGR 1030 (GRC-Grup de Recerca Consolidat).
FIGURE CAPTION
The figure depicts the Prothoracic Gland of Drosophila melanogaster larvae (red), responsible for the synthesis of the molting hormone ecdysone, that is located above the brain (blue). The tracheal system showed in green supplies oxygen to the prothoracic gland and the brain.