{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]],"date-time":"2026-01-28T06:18:08Z","timestamp":1769581088176,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,15]],"date-time":"2022-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663200000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The transforming growth factor-\u03b2 (TGF-\u03b2) superfamily encodes a large group of proteins, including TGF-\u03b2 isoforms, bone morphogenetic proteins and activins that act through conserved cell-surface receptors and signaling co-receptors. TGF-\u03b2 signaling in insects controls physiological events, including growth, development, diapause, caste determination and metamorphosis. In this study, we used the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, as a model species to investigate the role of the type I TGF-\u03b2 receptor, saxophone (Sax), in mediating development. Developmental and tissue-specific expression profiles indicated Sax is constitutively expressed during development with lower expression in 19- and 20-day (6th instar) larvae. RNAi knockdown of Sax in 19-day larvae prolonged developmental duration from larvae to pupae and significantly decreased pupation and adult eclosion in a dose-dependent manner. At 50 ng dsSax\/larva, Sax knockdown led to an 84.4% pupation rate and 46.3% adult emergence rate. At 100 ng and 200 ng dsSax\/larva, pupation was down to 75.6% and 50%, respectively, with 0% adult emergence following treatments with both doses. These phenotypes were similar to those following knockdowns of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) receptor genes, ecdysone receptor (EcR) or ultraspiracle\u00a0 protein (USP). Expression of 20E biosynthesis genes disembodied and spookier, 20E receptor genes EcR and USP, and 20E downstream genes BrC and E75, were suppressed after the Sax knockdown. Topical application of 20E on larvae treated with dsSax partially rescued the dsSax-driven defects. We can infer that the TGF-\u03b2 receptor gene Sax influences larval-pupal-adult development via 20E signaling in T. castaneum.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27186017","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]],"date-time":"2022-09-16T01:35:10Z","timestamp":1663292110000},"page":"6017","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["The TGF-\u03b2 Receptor Gene Saxophone Influences Larval-Pupal-Adult Development in Tribolium castaneum"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Jingjing","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Letong","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jingxiu","family":"Bi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA"},{"name":"Institution of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-Product, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Stanley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA"},{"name":"Biological Control of Insect Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Station (USDA\/ARS), Columbia, MO 65203, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qili","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qisheng","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huminiecki, L., Goldovsky, L., Freilich, S., Moustakas, A., Ouzounis, C., and Heldin, C.-H. 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