Figure 2. The ato^Bm mRNA is expressed as a stripe in the silkworm eye disc.

In all figures, panels showing fly discs or adult eyes are oriented posterior to the left. A,B) In situ hybrization to ato^Dm mRNA in the wt L3 eye disc of Drosophila. ato^Dm is expressed in a stripe marking neuronal progenitor cells. C, D) In situ hybrization to ato^Bm mRNA in the wt eye disc (L5 day 4) of Bombyx. Strikignly, ato^Bm is also expressed in a stripe. Although eye morphogenesis in B.mori is not well understood, this pattern of ato^Bm expression suggests that neurogenesis may proceed in a similar fashion as in the fruit fly. Identification of the eye discs was based on position within the larval head region relative to the larval ocelli (which are unrelated to the fruit fly ocelli, being already fully differentiated and visible externally at the larva stage in this species).