Key roles of the Broad-Complex gene in insect embryogenesis.

The Broad-Complex (BR-C) is a primary response gene in the ecdysteroid signaling pathway which encodes a family of transcription factors that play a key role in metamorphic processes. With the aim of studying the possible functions of BR-C in the embryogenesis of a short germ band insect, we cloned BR-C cDNAs in the cockroach Blattella germanica (BgBR-C) and obtained the full coding region of six BR-C isoforms (Z1-Z6) of which, Z1-Z5 have homologous sequences in other insects, whereas Z6 is new. Temporal-expression patterns indicate that BgBR-C isoforms are present throughout the embryogenesis of B. germanica, although with weak fluctuations. Silencing all BgBR-C isoforms in the embryo through parental RNAi elicited a diversity of phenotypes. These phenotypes suggest roles for BgBR-C in different embryogenesis processes of B. germanica, mainly in the formation of the germ band, in the transition from 30% to 35% of total development, when the amnion and serosa rupture and the secondary dorsal organ is formed, and in the hatching process, which involves neural, endocrine and muscular coordination. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.