Authors
Yi Wan, Hui-Jie Wu, Heng-Guang Huang, Zhuo-Qi Liu, Zhao-Xiang Sun, Zhang-Nv Yang, Hai-Jun Xu
Published in
Nature communications. Jul 02, 2026. Epub Jul 02, 2026.
Abstract
Insect wing polyphenism enables a single genome to produce distinct wing morphs in response to environmental cues, yet its underlying cellular determinants remain elusive. Here, we perform single-cell RNA sequencing of long-winged- and short-winged-destined wing buds of Pyrrhocoris apterus and Nilaparvata lugens, identifying six conserved cell types with comparable proportions between the two morphs. RNA interference-mediated silencing of 51 marker genes indicates that wing-patterning genes En (epithelial-like cells) and bs (tracheal cells), and cell-cycle genes Anln, CycB3, and cdk1 (neuron cells), are essential for long-winged development, among which En exhibits a specific temporal requirement. Flow cytometry analysis shows that long-winged formation mainly relies on an extended duration of cell proliferation. Cross-species comparisons indicate shared wing cell identities. Our findings indicate that hemipteran short-winged morphs may evolve from ancestral long-winged forms via precise regulation of wing-patterning and cell-cycle gene expression in epithelial‑like, tracheal, and neuron cells. This provides insights into the developmental plasticity of insect tissues at single‑cell resolution.
PMID:
42393067
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Jul 2026.
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