How many times to molt? Endocrine control of moltinism in lepidopteran insects

IF 5.5 1区农林科学 Q1 BIOLOGY

Current opinion in insect science Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-20 DOI:10.1016/j.cois.2025.101482

Takaaki Daimon

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Although the endocrine regulation of insect molting and metamorphosis has been well characterized, the mechanisms that define how many larval molts occur before metamorphosis remain unclear. To examine the mechanisms that determine molt number, or moltinism, the silkworm Bombyx mori serves as a powerful model. Work with juvenile hormone-deficient mutants has shown that Bombyx larvae must complete at least two larval molts to acquire competence for metamorphosis, suggesting the presence of an unidentified factor that confers this competence. Furthermore, genetic analysis of the classic Moltinism locus revealed that the Hox gene Sex combs reduced (Scr) acts as a major regulator of molt number. Scr influences molting hormone biosynthesis and thereby governs the number of larval molts through the threshold size mechanism. Overall clarification of how insects set the number of molts will provide important insights into the evolution and the diversification of life histories in insects and other arthropods.

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蜕皮几次？鳞翅目昆虫蜕皮现象的内分泌控制。

虽然昆虫蜕皮和变态的内分泌调节已经被很好地描述，但在变态发生之前，多少幼虫蜕皮的机制仍然不清楚。为了研究决定蜕皮数量或蜕皮现象的机制，家蚕（Bombyx mori）是一个强有力的模型。对jh缺陷突变体的研究表明，家蚕幼虫必须完成至少两次幼虫蜕皮才能获得变态能力，这表明存在一种未知因素赋予这种能力。此外，对典型蜕皮现象基因座的遗传分析表明，Hox基因性梳减少（Scr）是蜕皮数量的主要调控因子。Scr影响蜕皮激素的生物合成，从而通过阈值大小机制控制幼虫蜕皮数量。全面阐明昆虫如何设定蜕皮次数将为昆虫和其他节肢动物的进化和生活史的多样化提供重要的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Current opinion in insect science BIOLOGYECOLOGYENTOMOLOGY-ECOLOGY

CiteScore

10.40

自引率

1.90%

发文量

113

期刊介绍： Current Opinion in Insect Science is a new systematic review journal that aims to provide specialists with a unique and educational platform to keep up–to–date with the expanding volume of information published in the field of Insect Science. As this is such a broad discipline, we have determined themed sections each of which is reviewed once a year. The following 11 areas are covered by Current Opinion in Insect Science. -Ecology -Insect genomics -Global Change Biology -Molecular Physiology (Including Immunity) -Pests and Resistance -Parasites, Parasitoids and Biological Control -Behavioural Ecology -Development and Regulation -Social Insects -Neuroscience -Vectors and Medical and Veterinary Entomology There is also a section that changes every year to reflect hot topics in the field. Section Editors, who are major authorities in their area, are appointed by the Editors of the journal. They divide their section into a number of topics, ensuring that the field is comprehensively covered and that all issues of current importance are emphasized. Section Editors commission articles from leading scientists on each topic that they have selected and the commissioned authors write short review articles in which they present recent developments in their subject, emphasizing the aspects that, in their opinion, are most important. In addition, they provide short annotations to the papers that they consider to be most interesting from all those published in their topic over the previous year.