Analysis of RNA-seq data reveals involvement of JAK/STAT signalling during leg regeneration in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

In the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, missing distal parts of the amputated leg are regenerated from the blastema, a population of dedifferentiated proliferating cells that forms at the distal tip of the leg stump. To identify molecules involved in blastema formation, comparative transcriptome analysis was performed between regenerating and normal unamputated legs. Components of JAK/STAT signalling were upregulated more than twofold in regenerating legs. To verify their involvement, Gryllus homologues of the interleukin receptor Domeless (Gb'dome), the Janus kinase Hopscotch (Gb'hop) and the transcription factor STAT (Gb'Stat) were cloned, and RNAi was performed against these genes. Gb'dome^RNAi, Gb'hop^RNAi and Gb'Stat^RNAi crickets showed defects in leg regeneration. Blastema expression of Gb'cyclinE was decreased in the Gb'Stat^RNAi cricket compared with that in the control. Hyperproliferation of blastema cells caused by Gb'fat^RNAi or Gb'warts^RNAi was suppressed by ^RNAi against Gb'Stat. The results suggest that JAK/STAT signalling regulates blastema cell proliferation during leg regeneration.