Involvement of mind the gap in the organization of the tracheal apical extracellular matrix in Drosophila and Nilaparvata lugens

AbstractThe tracheal apical extracellular matrix (aECM) is vital for expansion of the tracheal lumen and supports the normal structure of the lumen to guarantee air entry and circulation in insects. Although it has been found that some cuticular proteins are involved in the organization of the aECM, unidentified factors still exist. Here, we found that mind the gap (Mtg), a predicted chitin ‐binding protein, is required for the normal formation of the apical chitin matrix of airway tubes in the model holometabolous insectDrosophila melanogaster. Similar to chitin, the Mtg protein was linearly arranged in the tracheal dorsal trunk of the tracheae inDrosophila. Decreasedmtg expression in the tracheae seriously affected the viability of larvae and caused tracheal chitin spiral defects in some larvae. Analysis ofmtg mutant showed thatmtg was required for normal development of tracheae in embryos. Irregular taenidial folds of somemtg mutant embryos were found on either lateral view of tracheal dorsal trunk or internal view of transmission electron microscopy analysis. These abnormal tracheae were not fully filled with gas and accompanied by a reduction in tracheal width, which are characteristic phenotypes of tracheal aECM defects. Furthermore, in the hemimetabolous brown planthopper (BPH)Nilaparvata lugens, downregulation ofNlCPAP1 ‐N (a homolog ofmtg) also led to the formation of abnormal tracheal chitin spirals and death. These results suggest thatmtg and its homolog are in...
Source: Insect Science - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
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