Hot off the Press: Aphid developmental genes research at NTU Entomology featured on the cover of an international journal for the sixth time

Genetic research on the developmental genes of aphids at NTU Department of Entomology has once again made headlines, this time being featured on an international scientific journal. The image of the “hunchback” (hb) gene expression of the Acyrthosiphon pisum (asexual viviparous pea aphid) is on the cover of the August 2021 issue of the redesigned international journal Insect Molecular Biology, a leading journal in the field of Entomology. The publication of the photograph was the result of a request made by the Royal Entomological Society to the Department of Entomology. The image made it to the cover of the first issue of the redesigned journal (Fig. 1) following copyright agreement negotiations between NTU and the Society.

The image was provided by the research lab led by Prof. Chun-che Chang (張俊哲). Prof. Chang’s team has long been involved in the investigation of the development of germ cells and the mechanisms of axis formation in asexual viviparous pea aphids (Fig. 2). His researchers have discovered over the past few years that hb genes shared by insects have exceeded their original developmental role in asexual viviparous aphids. Transcripts of hb, also termed as hb messenger RNA (mRNA), can be identified at the anterior region of the uncellularized egg chambers and also in the neuroblasts of the segmented embryos. Surprisingly, hb mRNA can also be identified in the embryonic germ cells uninterruptedly from the initial stage to the final stage of development. In the embryos of a wide variety of insects, including species of fruit flies, mosquitoes, crickets, locusts, stink bugs, bees and parasitic wasps, the hb gene is found to be involved only in the development of anterior and neuroblasts. Expression and regulation of hb in germ cells have not been disclosed. Therefore, the unique expression of the hb genes in the germ cells of aphids is given special significance. Dr. Chen-yo Chung (鍾成侑) and Prof. Chang (Fig. 3), who provided the image, said that in asexual viviparous aphids, embryos develop directly from their germ cells, and therefore the expression of hb genes probably represents a type of preferential regulation, allowing the anterior region of the embryo’s axis to be determined by the required molecules like hb mRNA. The research of Prof. Chang's team was chosen to be on the cover of the journal for its novel and special significances.

The research of Prof. Chang's lab has made it to the cover page of international scientific journals for a total of six times since 2006. Among those six instances, three have been on the prestigious entomological journal Insect Molecular Biology, which happened in 2014, 2020 and 2021, respectively. The name of Prof. Chang’s lab has recently changed from "Laboratory for Genetics and Development" to "Laboratory for Genomics and Development (LGD)". According to Prof. Chang, the new name indicates that the LGD aims to investigate aphid development from gene to genome level. Meanwhile, the new name is a commemoration of the significance of its research being featured on the cover of Insect Molecular Biology. Going forward, the Department of Entomology aspires to continue its role as an important international research center for aphid developmental genes as well as to discover effective strategies to control the reproduction of aphids, a major agricultural pest.

Related websites:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/imb.12650
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imb.12514