Evolución de la metamorfosis de los insectos
The object of study of the research group are the mechanisms that regulate the metamorphosis of insects , and how these mechanisms have evolved from ancestral species, with a gradual metamorphosis (like in cockroaches or locusts), to the most modified species, with a discontinuous metamorphosis (like in butterflies or flies). Therefore, the questions that the research group on the Evolution of insect metamorphosis seek to answer are: How did metamorphosis develop in insects? What endocrine and molecular mechanisms led to the evolutionary transition from gradual to discontinuous metamorphosis?
Lab website: Bellés Lab
Belles X. 2025. The other rhinoceroses that Dürer did not know. Nuncius, 2025: 1–29. DOI: 10.1163/18253911-bja10156.
Belles, X. 2025. Una dansa de grues en un bestiari anglès del segle XIII. Ítaca 16: 109-124. doi.org/10.14198/itaca.27710
Pujal D, Escudero J, Cabrera P, Bos L, Vargas-Chávez C, Fernández R, Bellés X, Maestro JL. 2024. Functional redundancy of the three insulin receptors of cockroaches. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 172(July):104161. DOI:10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104161
Fernandez-Nicolas A, Machaj G, Ventos-Alfonso A, Pagone V, Minemura T, Ohde T, Daimon T, Ylla G, Belles X. 2023. Reduction of embryonic E93 expression as a hypothetical driver of the evolution of insect metamorphosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(7):2017. DOI:10.1073/pnas.2216640120
Shirai Y, Piulachs M, Belles X, Daimon T. 2022. DIPA-CRISPR is a simple and accessible method for insect gene editing. Cell Reports Methods, 2(5):100215. DOI:10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100215
Fernandez-Nicolas A, Ventos-Alfonso A, Kamsoi O, Clark-Hachtel C, Tomoyasu Y, Belles X. 2022. Broad complex and wing development in cockroaches. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 147. DOI:10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103798
Elias-Neto M, Alvarez N, Ventos-Alfonso A, Belles X. 2022. Flight or protection: the genes Ultrabithorax and apterous in the determination of membranous and sclerotized wings in insects. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289(1981). DOI:10.1098/rspb.2022.0967
Belles X. 2022. The sex of scents. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(8):1058-1059. DOI:10.1038/s41559-022-01818-8
Kamsoi O, Ventos-Alfonso A, Casares F, Almudi I, Belles X. 2021. Regulation of metamorphosis in neopteran insects is conserved in the paleopteran Cloeon dipterum (Ephemeroptera). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(34):e2105272118. DOI:10.1073/pnas.2105272118
Clark-Hachtel C, Fernandez-Nicolas A, Belles X, Tomoyasu Y. 2021. Tergal and pleural wing-related tissues in the German cockroach and their implication to the evolutionary origin of insect wings. Evolution & development, 23(2): 100–116. DOI: 10.1111/ede.12372.
Belles X. 2021. A synopsis of the spider beetles (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) of Socotra, with the description of a new genus and two new species. Zoology in the Middle East, 67(2):133-143. DOI:10.1080/09397140.2021.1883623
Ventós-Alfonso A, Ylla G, Montañes JC, Belles X. 2020. DNMT1 Promotes Genome Methylation and Early Embryo Development in Cockroaches. iScience, 23(12). DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101778
Kamsoi O, Belles X. 2020. E93-depleted adult insects preserve the prothoracic gland and molt again. Development, 147(22). DOI: 10.1242/dev.190066.
Belles X. 2020. Krüppel homolog 1 and E93: The doorkeeper and the key to insect metamorphosis. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 103(3):1-8. DOI:10.1002/arch.21609
Wexler J, Delaney EK, Belles X, Schal C, Wada-Katsumata A, Amicucci MJ, Kopp A. 2019. Hemimetabolous insects elucidate the origin of sexual development via alternative splicing. eLife, 8:587964. DOI:10.7554/eLife.47490
Ventos-Alfonso A, Ylla G, Belles X. 2019. Zelda and the maternal-to-zygotic transition in cockroaches. FEBS Journal, 286(16):3206-3221. DOI:10.1111/febs.14856
Kamsoi O, Belles X. 2019. Myoglianin triggers the premetamorphosis stage in hemimetabolan insects. FASEB Journal, 33(3):3659-3669. DOI:10.1096/fj.201801511R
Belles X. 2019. The innovation of the final moult and the origin of insect metamorphosis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 374(1783). DOI:10.1098/rstb.2018.0415.
Alekseev VI, Bukejs A, Bellés X. 2019. Dignoptinus, a new genus for fossil dignomus regiomontanus alekseev from eocene baltic amber, and new status for bruchoptinus reitter and pseudoptinus reitter (coleoptera: Ptinidae). Fossil Record, 22(2):65-72. DOI:10.5194/fr-22-65-2019.
Ylla G, Piulachs MD, Belles X. 2018. Comparative Transcriptomics in Two Extreme Neopterans Reveals General Trends in the Evolution of Modern Insects. iScience, 4:164-179. DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2018.05.017
Ylla G, Piulachs MD, Belles X. 2018. Comparative Transcriptomics in Two Extreme Neopterans Reveals General Trends in the Evolution of Modern Insects. iScience, 4:164-179. DOI:10.1016/j.isci.2018.05.017
Rubio M, Maestro JL, Piulachs MD, Belles X. 2018. Conserved association of Argonaute 1 and 2 proteins with miRNA and siRNA pathways throughout insect evolution, from cockroaches to flies. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms, 1861(6):554-560. DOI:10.1016/j.bbagrm.2018.04.001
Llonga N, Ylla G, Bau J, Belles X, Piulachs MD. 2018. Diversity of piRNA expression patterns during the ontogeny of the German cockroach. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 330(5):288-295. DOI:10.1002/jez.b.22815
Jongepier E, Kemena C, Lopez-Ezquerra A, Belles X, Bornberg-Bauer E, Korb J. 2018. Remodeling of the juvenile hormone pathway through caste-biased gene expression and positive selection along a gradient of termite eusociality. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 330(5):296-304. DOI:10.1002/jez.b.22805
Huang JH, Liu Y, Lin YH, Belles X, Lee HJ. 2018. Practical use of RNA interference: Oral delivery of double-stranded RNA in liposome carriers for cockroaches. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 135:1-6. DOI:10.3791/57385
Harrison MC, Jongepier E, Robertson HM, Arning N, Bitard-Feildel T, Chao H, Childers CP, Dinh H, Doddapaneni H, Dugan S, Gowin J, Greiner C, Han Y, Hu H, Hughes DST, Huylmans AK, Kemena C, Kremer LPM, Lee SL, Lopez-Ezquerra A, Mallet L, Monroy-Kuhn JM, Moser A, Murali SC, Muzny DM, Otani S, Piulachs MD, Poelchau M, Qu J, Schaub F, Wada-Katsumata A, Worley KC, Xie Q, Ylla G, Poulsen M, Gibbs RA, Schal C, Richards S, Belles X, Korb J, Bornberg-Bauer E. 2018. Hemimetabolous genomes reveal molecular basis of termite eusociality. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(3):557-566. DOI:10.1038/s41559-017-0459-1
Harrison MC, Arning N, Kremer LPM, Ylla G, Belles X, Bornberg-Bauer E, Huylmans AK, Jongepier E, Piulachs MD, Richards S, Schal C. 2018. Expansions of key protein families in the German cockroach highlight the molecular basis of its remarkable success as a global indoor pest. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 330(5):254-264. DOI:10.1002/jez.b.22824
Bukejs A, Bellés X, Alekseev VI. 2018. A new species of Dignomus Wollaston (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) from Eocene Baltic amber. Zootaxa, 4486(2):195-200. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4486.2.9
Ylla G, Piulachs MD, Belles X. 2017. Comparative analysis of miRNA expression during the development of insects of different metamorphosis modes and germ-band types. BMC Genomics, 18(1):1-13. DOI:10.1186/s12864-017-4177-5
Lin YH, Huang JH, Liu Y, Belles X, Lee HJ. 2017. Oral delivery of dsRNA lipoplexes to German cockroach protects dsRNA from degradation and induces RNAi response. Pest Management Science, 73(5):960-966. DOI:10.1002/ps.4407
Korb J, Belles X. 2017. Juvenile hormone and hemimetabolan. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 22:109-116. DOI:10.1016/j.cois.2017.06.002
Fernandez-Nicolas A, Belles X. 2017. Juvenile hormone signaling in short germ-band hemimetabolan embryos. Development (Cambridge), 144(24):4637-4644. DOI:10.1242/dev.152827
Borras-Castells F, Nieva C, Maestro JL, Maestro O, Belles X, Martín D. 2017. Juvenile hormone biosynthesis in adult Blattella germanica requires nuclear receptors Seven-up and FTZ-F1. Scientific Reports, 7:1-15. DOI:10.1038/srep40234
Belles X. 2017. MicroRNAs and the Evolution of Insect Metamorphosis. Annual Review of Entomology, 62(1):111-125. DOI:10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-034925
Ylla G, Fromm B, Piulachs MD, Belles X. 2016. The microRNA toolkit of insects. Scientific Reports, 6(November):1-13. DOI:10.1038/srep37736
Santos CG, Fernandez-Nicolas A, Belles X. 2016. Smads and insect hemimetabolan metamorphosis. Developmental Biology, 417(1):104-113. DOI:10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.07.006
Naghdi M, Maestro JL, Belles X, Bandani A. 2016. Transduction of the vitellogenic signal of juvenile hormone by Methoprene-tolerant in the cockroach Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae). Arthropods, 5(4):130-137
Fernandez-Nicolas A, Belles X. 2016. CREB-binding protein contributes to the regulation of endocrine and developmental pathways in insect hemimetabolan pre-metamorphosis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects, 1860(3):508-515. DOI:10.1016/j.bbagen.2015.12.008
Elias-Neto M, Belles X. 2016. Tergal and pleural structures contribute to the formation of ectopic prothoracic wings in cockroaches. Royal Society Open Science, 3(8). DOI:10.1098/rsos.160347
Ons S, Bellés X, Maestro JL. 2015. Orcokinins contribute to the regulation of vitellogenin transcription in the cockroach Blattella germanica. Journal of Insect Physiology, 82:129-133. DOI:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.10.002
Lozano J, Montañez R, Belles X. 2015. MiR-2 family regulates insect metamorphosis by controlling the juvenile hormone signaling pathway. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(12):3740-3745. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1418522112
Jindra M, Bellés X, Shinoda T. 2015. Molecular basis of juvenile hormone signaling. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 11:39-46. DOI:10.1016/j.cois.2015.08.004
Faille A, Bourdeau C, Belles X, Fresneda J. 2015. Allopatric speciation illustrated: The hypogean genus Geotrechus Jeannel, 1919 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini), with description of four new species from the Eastern Pyrenees (Spain). Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny, 73(3):439-455.
Dillon MB, Schulten V, Oseroff C, Paul S, Dullanty LM, Frazier A, Belles X, Piulachs MD, Visness C, Bacharier L, Bloomberg GR, Busse P, Sidney J, Peters B, Sette A. 2015. Different Bla-g T cell antigens dominate responses in asthma versus rhinitis subjects. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 45(12):1856-1867. DOI:10.1111/cea.12643
Belles X, Ylla G. 2015. Towards understanding the molecular basis of cockroach tergal gland morphogenesis. A transcriptomic approach. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 63:104-112. DOI:10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.06.008
Belles X, Piulachs MD. 2015. Ecdysone signalling and ovarian development in insects: From stem cells to ovarian follicle formation. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms, 1849(2):181-186. DOI:10.1016/j.bbagrm.2014.05.025
Patiño-Navarrete R, Piulachs MD, Belles X, Moya A, Latorre A, Peretó J. 2014. The cockroach Blattella germanica obtains nitrogen from uric acid through a metabolic pathway shared with its bacterial endosymbiont. Biology Letters, 10(7):7-10. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0407
Lozano J, Belles X. 2014. Role of methoprene-tolerant (Met) in adult morphogenesis and in adult ecdysis of Blattella germanica. PLoS ONE, 9(7). DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0103614
Lozano J, Kayukawa T, Shinoda T, Belles X. 2014. A Role for Taiman in Insect Metamorphosis. PLoS Genetics, 10(10). DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004769
Herraiz A, Belles X, Piulachs MD. 2014. Chorion formation in panoistic ovaries requires windei and trimethylation of histone 3 lysine 9. Experimental Cell Research, 320(1):46-53. DOI:10.1016/j.yexcr.2013.07.006