Appendage regeneration has been widely studied in many species. Compared to other animal models, Harmonia axyridis has the advantage of a short life cycle, is easily reared, has strong regeneration capacity and contains systemic RNAi, making it a model organism for research on appendage regeneration. Here, we performed transcriptome analysis, followed by gene functional assays to reveal the molecular mechanism of H. axyridis leg regenerative growth process. Signaling pathways including Decapentaplegic (Dpp), Wingless (Wg), Ds/Ft/Hippo, Notch, Egfr, and Hedgehog (Hh) were all upregulated during the leg regenerative patterning and growth. Among these, Hh and its auxiliary receptor Lrp2 were required for the proper patterning and growth of the regenerative leg. The targets of canonical Hh signaling were required for the regenerative growth which contributes to the leg length, but were not essential for the pattern formation of the regenerative leg. dpp, wg and leg developmental-related genes including rn, dac and Dll were all regulated by hh and lrp2 and may play an essential role in the regenerative patterning of the leg.

许多物种的附肢再生已得到广泛研究。与其他动物模型相比，异色瓢虫具有生命周期短、易于饲养、再生能力强、含有系统性RNAi等优点，使其成为附属器再生研究的模式生物。在这里，我们进行了转录组分析，随后进行了基因功能分析，以揭示异色异丝虫腿再生生长过程的分子机制。包括 Decapentaplegic (Dpp)、Wingless (Wg)、Ds/Ft/Hippo、Notch、Egfr 和 Hedgehog (Hh) 在内的信号通路在腿部再生模式和生长过程中均上调。其中，Hh 及其辅助受体 Lrp2 是再生腿的正确模式和生长所必需的。规范 Hh 信号传导的目标是再生生长所必需的，这有助于腿的长度，但对于再生腿的模式形成来说并不是必需的。 dpp 、 wg和腿部发育相关基因（包括rn 、 dac和Dll ）均受hh和lrp2调节，可能在腿部再生模式中发挥重要作用。