Differentiation and diversification of follicular cells in polytrophic ovaries of crane flies (Diptera: Nematocera: Tipulomorpha and Trichoceridae)

Abstract

To gain insight into the evolution of differentiation pathways that are involved in the follicular cells’ morphogenesis in dipteran ovaries we have undertaken the comparative morphological analysis of the follicular cell behavior in crane flies, representatives of more ancestral nematocerous flies. This analysis revealed that initially the organization of the follicular epithelium in the species under study shows significant similarities to that reported in the ovaries of true flies (Brachycera), indicating that the ancestors of dipterans must have evolved a common and specific system of the early patterning of their follicular epithelium. On the other hand, in contrast to Drosophila and other advanced brachycerans, the follicular cells in the studied nematoceran ovaries do not exhibit any migratory activity. Instead, they were found to change their relative position but only within the epithelial layer. These “translocations” appeared to depend merely on cell shape changes. Although the “immobility” of the follicular cells in the ovaries of crane flies results in the lower number of their specialized subgroups when compared with the true flies, the functional homology between particular subsets of follicular cells can be postulated. We suggest that the anterior polar cells and the micropyle forming anterior terminal follicular cells in crane fly ovaries have their counterparts in the brachyceran anterior polar cells and border cells, respectively.