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He Y, Ding Y, Gong C, Zhou J, Gong Z. The tail segments are required by the performance but not the accomplishment of various modes of Drosophila larval locomotion. Behav Brain Res 2024; 471:115074. [PMID: 38825023 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
The tail plays important roles in locomotion control in many animals. But in animals with multiple body segments, the roles of the hind body segments and corresponding innervating neurons in locomotion control are not clear. Here, using the Drosophila larva as the model animal, we investigated the roles of the posterior terminal segments in various modes of locomotion and found that they participate in all of them. In forward crawling, paralysis of the larval tail by blocking the Abdb-Gal4 labeled neurons in the posterior segments of VNC led to a slower locomotion speed but did not prevent the initiation of forward peristalsis. In backward crawling, larvae with the Abdb-Gal4 neurons inhibited were unable to generate effective displacement although waves of backward peristalsis could be initiated and persist. In head swing where the movement of the tail is not obvious, disabling the larval tail by blocking Abdb-Gal4 neurons led to increased bending amplitude upon touching the head. In the case of larval lateral rolling, larval tail paralysis by inhibition of Abdb-Gal4 neurons did not prevent the accomplishment of rolling, but resulted in slower rolling speed. Our work reveals that the contribution of Drosophila larval posterior VNC segments and corresponding body segments in the tail to locomotion is comprehensive but could be compensated at least partially by other body segments. We suggest that the decentralization in locomotion control with respect to animal body parts helps to maintain the robustness of locomotion in multi-segment animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhui He
- Department of neurology of the fourth Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Yimiao Ding
- Department of neurology of the fourth Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Caixia Gong
- Department of Geriatrics, the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province 310003, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Aging and Physic-chemical Injury Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province 310003, China
| | - Jinrun Zhou
- Department of neurology of the fourth Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Zhefeng Gong
- Department of neurology of the fourth Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China.
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Gavazzi LM, Nair M, Suydam R, Usip S, Thewissen JGM, Cooper LN. Protein signaling and morphological development of the tail fluke in the embryonic beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). Dev Dyn 2024. [PMID: 38494595 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During the land-to-sea transition of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), the hindlimbs were lost and replaced by an elaborate tail fluke that evolved 32 Ma. All modern cetaceans utilize flukes for lift-based propulsion, and nothing is known of this organ's molecular origins during embryonic development. This study utilizes immunohistochemistry to identify the spatiotemporal location of protein signals known to drive appendage outgrowth in other vertebrates (e.g., Sonic Hedgehog [SHH], GREMLIN [GREM], wingless-type family member 7a [WNT], and fibroblast growth factors [FGFs]) and to test the hypothesis that signals associated with outgrowth and patterning of the tail fluke are similar to a tetrapod limb. Specifically, this study utilizes an embryo of a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) as a case study. RESULTS Results showed epidermal signals of WNT and FGFs, and mesenchymal/epidermal signals of SHH and GREM. These patterns are most consistent with vertebrate limb development. Overall, these data are most consistent with the hypothesis that outgrowth of tail flukes in cetaceans employs a signaling pattern that suggests genes essential for limb outgrowth and patterning shape this evolutionarily novel appendage. CONCLUSIONS While these data add insights into the molecular signals potentially driving the evolution and development of tail flukes in cetaceans, further exploration of the molecular drivers of fluke development is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Gavazzi
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
- Musculoskeletal Research Focus Area, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA
| | - M Nair
- Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA
| | - R Suydam
- Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Utqiaġvik, Alaska, USA
| | - S Usip
- Musculoskeletal Research Focus Area, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA
| | - J G M Thewissen
- Musculoskeletal Research Focus Area, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA
| | - L N Cooper
- Musculoskeletal Research Focus Area, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA
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Formoso KK, Habib MB, Vélez-Juarbe J. The Role of Locomotory Ancestry on Secondarily Aquatic Transitions. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:1140-1153. [PMID: 37591628 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Land-to-sea evolutionary transitions are great transformations where terrestrial amniote clades returned to aquatic environments. These secondarily aquatic amniote clades include charismatic marine mammal and marine reptile groups, as well as countless semi-aquatic forms that modified their terrestrial locomotor anatomy to varying degrees to be suited for swimming via axial and/or appendicular propulsion. The terrestrial ancestors of secondarily aquatic groups would have started off swimming strikingly differently from one another given their evolutionary histories, as inferred by the way modern terrestrial amniotes swim. With such stark locomotor functional differences between reptiles and mammals, we ask if this impacted these transitions. Axial propulsion appears favored by aquatic descendants of terrestrially sprawling quadrupedal reptiles, with exceptions. Appendicular propulsion is more prevalent across the aquatic descendants of ancestrally parasagittal-postured mammals, particularly early transitioning forms. Ancestral terrestrial anatomical differences that precede secondarily aquatic invasions between mammals and reptiles, as well as the distribution of axial and appendicular swimming in secondarily aquatic clades, may indicate that ancestral terrestrial locomotor anatomy played a role, potentially in both constraint and facilitation, in certain aquatic locomotion styles. This perspective of the land-to-sea transition can lead to new avenues of functional, biomechanical, and developmental study of secondarily aquatic transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiersten K Formoso
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, 3651 Trousedale Pkwy, Zumberge Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007-4057, USA
| | - Michael B Habib
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007-4057, USA
- UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, Division of Cardiology, 100 Medical Plaza, Suite 660, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jorge Vélez-Juarbe
- Department of Mammalogy, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angelss, CA 90007-4057, USA
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Paniccia D, Padovani L, Graziani G, Lugni C, Piva R. How Free Swimming Fosters the Locomotion of a Purely Oscillating Fish-like Body. Biomimetics (Basel) 2023; 8:401. [PMID: 37754152 PMCID: PMC10526200 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics8050401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The recoil motions in free swimming, given by lateral and angular rigid motions due to the interaction with the surrounding water, are of great importance for a correct evaluation of both the forward locomotion speed and efficiency of a fish-like body. Their contribution is essential for calculating the actual movements of the body rear end whose prominent influence on the generation of the proper body deformation was established a long time ago. In particular, the recoil motions are found here to promote a dramatic improvement of the performance when damaged fishes, namely for a partial functionality of the tail or even for its complete loss, are considered. In fact, the body deformation, which turns out to become oscillating and symmetric in the extreme case, is shown to recover in the water frame a kind of undulation leading to a certain locomotion speed though at the expense of a large energy consumption. There has been a deep interest in the subject since the infancy of swimming studies, and a revival has recently arisen for biomimetic applications to robotic fish-like bodies. We intend here to apply a theoretical impulse model to the oscillating fish in free swimming as a suitable test case to strengthen our belief in the beneficial effects of the recoil motions. At the same time, we intend to exploit the linearity of the model to detect from the numerical simulations the intrinsic physical reasons related to added mass and vorticity release behind the experimental observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damiano Paniccia
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University, 00184 Rome, Italy; (D.P.); (L.P.); (R.P.)
- Leonardo S.p.A., Piazza Monte Grappa 4, 00195 Rome, Italy
| | - Luca Padovani
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University, 00184 Rome, Italy; (D.P.); (L.P.); (R.P.)
- CNR-INM, Marine Technology Research Institute, 00128 Rome, Italy;
| | - Giorgio Graziani
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University, 00184 Rome, Italy; (D.P.); (L.P.); (R.P.)
| | - Claudio Lugni
- CNR-INM, Marine Technology Research Institute, 00128 Rome, Italy;
- Marine Technology Department, NTNU, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Renzo Piva
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University, 00184 Rome, Italy; (D.P.); (L.P.); (R.P.)
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Investigating the land-to-sea transition in carnivorans from the evolution of sacrum morphology in pinnipeds. J MAMM EVOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-023-09650-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe form and function of the sacrum are of great relevance to understand the evolution of locomotion in tetrapods because it is a key piece of the vertebrate skeleton. The sacrum connects the caudal and presacral regions of the vertebral column and the hindlimbs through the pelvis. Here, we investigate sacrum shape evolution in pinnipeds (Carnivora: Pinnipedia) in relation to terrestrial mammalian carnivorans (fissipeds), and we include crown and stem taxa to quantify the morphological changes they experience in relation to the aquatic environment they inhabit. We use 3D geometric morphometric methods to explore the morphological variability and disparity of the sacrum in a set of terrestrial and aquatic carnivoran species. Our results show that the morphology of the sacrum of each pinniped family is remarkably different and that these differences may be related to the aquatic mode of locomotion (pectoral or pelvic oscillation), the use of hindlimbs to support body weight on land (otariids in contrast with phocids), and the presence or absence of a functional tail. In addition, disparity-through-time analyses indicate that the sacrum of pinnipeds is less constrained than that of fissipeds, which suggests a gravitational origin of such constraints in fissipeds. In conclusion, our results give further support to the important role played by this skeletal structure in the locomotory adaptations of mammals.
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Morphological Correlates of Locomotion in the Aquatic and the Terrestrial Phases of Pleurodeles waltl Newts from Southwestern Iberia. DIVERSITY 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/d15020188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Animals capable of moving in different environments might face conflicting selection on morphology, thus posing trade-offs on the relationships between morphology and locomotor performance in each of these environments. Moreover, given the distinct ecological roles of the sexes, these relationships can be sexually dimorphic. In this article, I studied the relationships between morphological traits and locomotor performance in male and female semiaquatic Pleurodeles waltl newts in their aquatic and their terrestrial stages. Morphology was sexually dimorphic: males have proportionally longer limbs and tails, as well as a better body condition (only in the aquatic phase), whereas females were larger and had greater body mass in both phases. Nonetheless, these morphological differences did not translate into sexual divergence in locomotor performance in either stage. This finding suggests other functions for the morphological traits measured, among which only SVL showed a positive relationship with locomotor performance in both stages, whereas the effect of SMI was negative only in the terrestrial stage, and that of tail length was positive only in the aquatic stage. In any case, the morphological correlates of terrestrial and aquatic locomotion did not conflict, which suggests no trade-off between both locomotory modes in the newts studied.
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Sereno PC, Myhrvold N, Henderson DM, Fish FE, Vidal D, Baumgart SL, Keillor TM, Formoso KK, Conroy LL. Spinosaurus is not an aquatic dinosaur. eLife 2022; 11:80092. [PMID: 36448670 PMCID: PMC9711522 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A predominantly fish-eating diet was envisioned for the sail-backed theropod dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus when its elongate jaws with subconical teeth were unearthed a century ago in Egypt. Recent discovery of the high-spined tail of that skeleton, however, led to a bolder conjecture that S. aegyptiacus was the first fully aquatic dinosaur. The 'aquatic hypothesis' posits that S. aegyptiacus was a slow quadruped on land but a capable pursuit predator in coastal waters, powered by an expanded tail. We test these functional claims with skeletal and flesh models of S. aegyptiacus. We assembled a CT-based skeletal reconstruction based on the fossils, to which we added internal air and muscle to create a posable flesh model. That model shows that on land S. aegyptiacus was bipedal and in deep water was an unstable, slow-surface swimmer (<1 m/s) too buoyant to dive. Living reptiles with similar spine-supported sails over trunk and tail are used for display rather than aquatic propulsion, and nearly all extant secondary swimmers have reduced limbs and fleshy tail flukes. New fossils also show that Spinosaurus ranged far inland. Two stages are clarified in the evolution of Spinosaurus, which is best understood as a semiaquatic bipedal ambush piscivore that frequented the margins of coastal and inland waterways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul C Sereno
- 1Department of Organismal Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States,Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | | | | | - Frank E Fish
- Department of Biology, West Chester UniversityWest ChesterUnited States
| | | | | | - Tyler M Keillor
- 1Department of Organismal Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Kiersten K Formoso
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesUnited States,Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Lauren L Conroy
- 1Department of Organismal Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
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Schwaner MJ, Hsieh ST, Swalla BJ, McGowan CP. An introduction to an evolutionary tail: EvoDevo, structure and function of post-anal appendages. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:352-357. [PMID: 34124748 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Although tails are common and versatile appendages that contribute to evolutionary success of animals in a broad range of ways, a scientific synthesis on the topic had yet to be initiated. For our Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) symposium we brought together researchers from different areas of expertise (e.g., robotosists, biomechanists, functional morphologists, and evolutionary and developmental biologists), to highlight their research but also to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of this topic. The four main themes that emerged based on the research presented in this symposium are: 1) How do we define a tail? 2) Development and regeneration inform evolutionary origins of tails, 3) Identifying key characteristics highlights functional morphology of tails, 4) Tail multi-functionality leads to the development of bioinspired technology. We discuss the research provided within this symposium, in light of these four themes. We showcase the broad diversity of current tail research and lay an important foundational framework for future interdisciplinary research on tails with this timely symposium.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Schwaner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - S T Hsieh
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - B J Swalla
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - C P McGowan
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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