Thesis
Characterization of the Onthophagus nigriventris insulin receptor
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2010
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103437
Abstract
Coordinating body size and trait size is an important aspect of animal development. The body size of an individual is determined by genetic and environmental factors. Nutrition is the most important environmental cue. Organisms need a way to communicate their nutritional condition to each cell in their body in order to attain the correct body size, and thus trait size. The insulin signaling pathway is one mechanism for accomplishing this. Beetle horn size is a trait that is highly dependent on larval access to nutrition. There is a link between overall body size and amount of horn growth. The insulin signaling pathway has been suggested as a mechanism for coordinating horn size with body size in scarab beetles. As a first step to determine the extent to which the insulin signaling pathway plays a role in beetle horn growth, the insulin receptor transcript was cloned from a horned scarab beetle, Onthophagus nigriventris. In addition, the expression of this transcript during the late prepupal period was determined in different imaginal tissues and in horn imaginal tissues specifically. The full-length O. nigriventris insulin receptor transcript is highly conserved in sequence when compared to the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of insulin receptors of other species. It was found in all imaginal tissues tested including horn, wing, leg, and genital discs of males and horn, wing and genital discs of females. Relative expression levels did not differ between the horn tissues of small male beetles and large female beetles. These results are an important contribution and first step in understanding of the role the insulin receptor, and the insulin signaling pathway, in allometric growth and horn development in scarab beetles and in the evolution of beetle horns in general.
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Details
- Title
- Characterization of the Onthophagus nigriventris insulin receptor
- Creators
- Laura Lisa Hahn
- Contributors
- Laura S. Lavine (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Entomology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525129101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis