Meeting Abstract

P1.97  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Comparative Analysis of Insect Ovaries: Lessons from comparing Drosophila ovaries to other insects KUNTTAS-TATLI, E.*; OZPOLAT, B.D.; Carnegie Mellon University; University of Maryland ekunttas@andrew.cmu.edu

The Drosophila ovary is a well-understood model system used to study various cellular processes, including stem cell maintenance, cell migration, cell shape changes, and metabolism. Holometabolous insects, like Drosophila, exhibit polytrophic meroistic oogenesis in which, nurse cells follow and supply the oocyte with various components to allow for the rapid development and patterning. In contrast, other Holometabolous insects, like Tribolium, exhibit telotrophic meroistic ovaries, in which a common pool of nurse cells is shared by all the oocytes. On the other hand, more ancestral insects such as the members of the Hemimetabolous family, like Damselfly, are less well understood and exhibit panoistic oogenesis without nurse cells. More can be learned from exploring different modes of oogenesis, which might reveal different modes of stem-cell maintenance, cell-shape changes among others. In this study, we investigated examples from both meroistic and panoistic insects such as Blue bottle fly, Wasp, Butterfly, Beetles, Crickets and Damselfly and compared to the Drosophila. We examined cytoskeletal structures and germ cells by using markers such as specktrin, vasa, piwi and phalloidin. We compared overall tissue organization of germaria, by looking at stem cells, cyst formation, and the presence of ring canals. We also examined later stages of oogenesis focusing on egg chamber elongation and the presence or absence of border cells, among other well-known Drosophila landmarks. Our studies revealed a number of similarities and differences between Drosophila and other insects and provide insights into how various aspects of oogenesis might have evolved.