McGregor Lab




Spider development and evolution
The regulation and evolution of posterior segmentation
Spiders build their opisthosomal (abdominal) segments sequentially from a posterior segment addition zone like other short germ arthropods and analogous to somitogenesis in vertebrates. We have found that this is regulated by interplay between the Delta-Notch and Wnt signalling pathways which activate caudal and pair-rule gene orthologues, as well as Sox21b (Schoenauer et al., 2016, Development; Paese et al., 2018, eLife). We are currently further studying the genetic and cellular mechanisms of segmentation in Parasteatoda tepidariorum compared to other spiders and other arachnids.
The consequences of whole genome duplication in spiders
We found that there had been a whole genome duplication (WGD) in an ancestor of arachnopulmonates (spiders, scorpions and relatives) (Schwager et al., 2017, BMC Biology). We are currently comparing the genomes of spiders and other arachnids to survey duplicated genes and identify which arose from WGD versus tandem duplication in collaboration with Lauren Sumner-Rooney (Leite et al., 2018, Mol Biol Evol; Harper et al., 2021, G3). We are also studying the expression and function of these genes to test if they were subject to sub- and/or neofunctionalisation.
Re-building a leg to stand on: limb regeneration in spiders
The juveniles of many spider species can regenerate their limbs after they are autotomised at the coxa-trochanter joint following injury. In collaboration with Fritz Vollrath, we aim to characterise the genetic and cellular bases of spider leg regeneration in species such as Araneus diadematus, and to understand how regeneration may have been lost or supressed in other species like Parasteatoda tepidariorum.





Development and evolution of retinal primordia and eye configuations
Spiders differ in the number, size and placement of their eyes. In collaboration with Lauren Sumner-Rooney, we study the development and differentiation of the four pairs of eyes in Parasteatoda tepidariorum and how eye size, placement and number have evolved in other species, including jumping spiders, wolf spiders and tube web spiders. We have found that spider eye development may not be initiated by Pax6 genes like in other animals (Baudouin-Gonzalez et al., 2022, Cells). We are currently studying the developmental origins and regulation of spider eyes and how this has diversified among species.








