High-resolution gene expression data from blastoderm embryos of the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita

Wotton, Karl R.; Jiménez Guri, Eva; Crombach, Anton; Cicin Sain, Damjan; Jaeger, Johannes, 1973-

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2015.5

High-resolution gene expression data from blastoderm embryos of the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita

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Wotton KR, Jiménez-Guri E, Crombach A, Cicin-Sain D, Jaeger J. High-resolution gene expression data from blastoderm embryos of the scuttle fly Megaselia abdita. Scientific data. 2015;2:150005. DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2015.5

Abstract

Gap genes are involved in segment determination during early development in dipteran insects (flies, midges, and mosquitoes). We carried out a systematic quantitative comparative analysis of the gap gene network across different dipteran species. Our work provides mechanistic insights into the evolution of this pattern-forming network. As a central component of our project, we created a high-resolution quantitative spatio-temporal data set of gap and maternal co-ordinate gene expression in the blastoderm embryo of the non-drosophilid scuttle fly, Megaselia abdita. Our data include expression patterns in both wild-type and RNAi-treated embryos. The data-covering 10 genes, 10 time points, and over 1,000 individual embryos-consist of original embryo images, quantified expression profiles, extracted positions of expression boundaries, and integrated expression patterns, plus metadata and intermediate processing steps. These data provide a valuable resource for researchers interested in the comparative study of gene regulatory networks and pattern formation, an essential step towards a more quantitative and mechanistic understanding of developmental evolution.