Expression of posterior Hox genes and opisthosomal appendage development in a mygalomorph spider.

Abstract

Spiders represent an evolutionary successful group of chelicerate arthropods. The body of spiders is subdivided into two regions (tagmata). The anterior tagma, the prosoma, bears the head appendages and four pairs of walking legs. The segments of the posterior tagma, the opisthosoma, either lost their appendages during the course of evolution or their appendages were substantially modified to fulfill new tasks such as reproduction, gas exchange, and silk production. Previous work has shown that the homeotic Hox genes are involved in shaping the posterior appendages of spiders. In this paper, we investigate the expression of the posterior Hox genes in a tarantula that possesses some key differences of posterior appendages compared to true spiders, such as the lack of the anterior pair of spinnerets and a second set of book lungs instead of trachea. Based on the observed differences in posterior Hox gene expression in true spiders and tarantulas, we argue that subtle changes in the Hox gene expression of the Hox genes abdA and AbdB are possibly responsible for at least some of the morphological differences seen in true spiders versus tarantulas.