Expression of engrailed during segmentation in grasshopper and crayfish

Abstract

We have used a monoclonal antibody that recognizes engrailed proteins to compare the process of segmentation in grasshopper, crayfish, and Drosophila. Drosophila embryos rapidly generate metameres during an embryonic stage characterized by the absence of cell division. In contrast, many other arthropod embryos, such as those of more primitive insects and crustaceans, generate metameres gradually and sequentially, as cell proliferation causes caudal elongation. In all three organisms, the pattern of engrailed expression at the segmented germ band stage is similar, and the parasegments are the first metameres to form. Nevertheless, the way in which the engrailed pattern is generated differs and reflects the differences in how these organisms generate their metameres. These differences call into question what role homologues of the Drosophila pairrule segmentation genes might play in other arthropods that generate metameres sequentially.