Analysis of Dorsoventral Patterning of Camponotus floridanus

Abstract

Highly conserved gene regulatory networks are responsible for pattern formation in development. In case of insects that host cellular endosymbionts, challenges are faced for understanding pattern formation because of the interactions between the endosymbiont and intercellular signals of the host developmental gene regulatory network. Studying how these networks are operated in the presence of endosymbionts is critical for understanding of the process of endosymbiosis at the organismal level as well as the evolution of developmental systems.We characterized Dorsal-Ventral (DV) patterning system of the ant, Camponotus floridanus. Since DV patterning depends heavily on Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in many insects, we used molecular techniques such as gene cloning, in situ hybridization, and RNA interference to examine the expression and function of developmental genes that are particularly involved in Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling.Here we show the expression and function of core BMP signaling components for DV patterning of ant C. floridanus.