Key roles of the Broad-Complex gene in insect embryogenesis

The Broad-Complex (BR-C) is a primary response gene in the ecdysteroid signaling pathway which encodes a family of transcription factors that play a key role in metamorphic processes. With the aim of studying the possible functions of BR-C in the embryogenesis of a short germ band insect, we cloned BR-C cDNAs in the cockroach Blattella germanica (BgBR-C) and obtained the full coding region of six BR-C isoforms (Z1–Z6) of which, Z1–Z5 have homologous sequences in other insects, whereas Z6 is new. Temporal-expression patterns indicate that BgBR-C isoforms are present throughout the embryogenesis of B. germanica, although with weak fluctuations. Silencing all BgBR-C isoforms in the embryo through parental RNAi elicited a diversity of phenotypes. These phenotypes suggest roles for BgBR-C in different embryogenesis processes of B. germanica, mainly in the formation of the germ band, in the transition from 30% to 35% of total development, when the amnion and serosa rupture and the secondary dorsal organ is formed, and in the hatching process, which involves neural, endocrine and muscular coordination.