Molecular bases of spinneret regeneration in spiders (Arachnida: Araneae)

Abstract

The regenerative process fascinates biologists for long. Innumerable studies have been done with may model-organisms and regeneration has been described in several metazoan phyla. Recently many works on the subject focused on elucidating the process in genetic and molecular terms, revisiting models that a have been used for long a searching for new ones. Following that, in this project we suggest the spiders Nephila clavipes (Araneomorphae: Araneidae) and e Parasteatoda tepidariorum (Araneomorphae: Theridiidae) as new models to study the molecular basis of the regeneration process. To do so, specimens of each species will be collected and undergo amputation of the spinnerets and, during the regeneration, qPCR analyses will be done for us to understand the expression of candidate genes, obtained in the literature on spinneret ontogeny, that potentially take part in the process. Thus, we intent to test the hypothesis that the genes involved in spinneret regeneration are the same ones involved in spinneret embryonic development. (AU)