We have analyzed midgut development during the fifth larval instar in the tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens. In prepupae, the midgut formed during larval instars undergoes a complete renewal process. This drastic remodeling of the alimentary canal involves the destruction of the old cells by programmed cell-death mechanisms (autophagy and apoptosis). Massive proliferation and differentiation of regenerative stem cells take place at the end of the fifth instar and give rise to a new fully functioning epithelium that is capable of digesting and absorbing nutrients and that is maintained throughout the subsequent pupal stage. Midgut replacement in H. virescens is achieved by a balance between this active proliferation process and cell-death mechanisms and is different from similar processes characterized in other insects.
Programmed cell death and stem cell differentiation are responsible for midgut replacement in Heliothis virescens during prepupal instar / G., Tettamanti; A., Grimaldi; M., Casartelli; E., Ambrosetti; B., Ponti; T., Congiu; R., Ferrarese; M. L., Rivas Pena; Pennacchio, Francesco; M. d., Eguileor. - In: CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH. - ISSN 0302-766X. - STAMPA. - 330:(2007), pp. 345-359. [10.1007/s00441-007-0449-8]
Programmed cell death and stem cell differentiation are responsible for midgut replacement in Heliothis virescens during prepupal instar
PENNACCHIO, FRANCESCO;
2007
Abstract
We have analyzed midgut development during the fifth larval instar in the tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens. In prepupae, the midgut formed during larval instars undergoes a complete renewal process. This drastic remodeling of the alimentary canal involves the destruction of the old cells by programmed cell-death mechanisms (autophagy and apoptosis). Massive proliferation and differentiation of regenerative stem cells take place at the end of the fifth instar and give rise to a new fully functioning epithelium that is capable of digesting and absorbing nutrients and that is maintained throughout the subsequent pupal stage. Midgut replacement in H. virescens is achieved by a balance between this active proliferation process and cell-death mechanisms and is different from similar processes characterized in other insects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.