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Boudinot BE, van de Kamp T, Peters P, Knöllinger K. Male genitalia, hierarchical homology, and the anatomy of the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata; Hymenoptera, Formicidae). J Morphol 2024; 285:e21757. [PMID: 39192511 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
The male genitalia of insects are among the most variable, complex, and informative character systems for evolutionary analysis and taxonomic purposes. Because of these general properties, many generations of systematists have struggled to develop a theory of homology and alignment of parts. This struggle continues to the present day, where fundamentally different models and nomenclatures for the male genitalia of Hymenoptera, for example, are applied. Here, we take a multimodal approach to digitalize and comprehensively document the genital skeletomuscular anatomy of the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata; Hymenoptera: Formicidae), including hand dissection, synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography, microphotography, scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and 3D-printing. Through this work, we generate several new concepts for the structure and form of the male genitalia of Hymenoptera, such as for the endophallic sclerite (=fibula ducti), which we were able to evaluate in detail for the first time for any species. Based on this phenomic anatomical study and comparison with other Holometabola and Hexapoda, we reconsider the homologies of insect genitalia more broadly, and propose a series of clarifications in support of the penis-gonopod theory of male genital identity. Specifically, we use the male genitalia of Paraponera and insects more broadly as an empirical case for hierarchical homology by applying and refining the 5-category classification of serial homologs from DiFrisco et al. (2023) (DLW23) to all of our formalized concepts. Through this, we find that: (1) geometry is a critical attribute to account for in ontology, especially as all individually identifiable attributes are positionally indexed hence can be recognized as homomorphic; (2) the definition of "structure" proposed by DLW23 is difficult to apply, and likely heterogeneous; and (3) formative elements, or spatially defined foldings or in- or evaginations of the epidermis and cuticle, are an important yet overlooked class of homomorphs. We propose a morphogenetic model for male and female insect genitalia, and a model analogous to gene-tree species-tree mappings for the hierarchical homology of male genitalia specifically. For all of the structures evaluated in the present study, we provide 3D-printable models - with and without musculature, and in various states of digital dissection - to facilitate the development of a tactile understanding. Our treatment of the male genitalia of P. clavata serves as a basic template for future phenomic studies of male insect genitalia, which will be substantially improved with the development of automation and collections-based data processing pipelines, that is, collectomics. The Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology will be a critical resource to include in this effort, and in best practice concepts should be linked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendon E Boudinot
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Entomology II, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Thomas van de Kamp
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (LAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Patricia Peters
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Entomology II, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Katja Knöllinger
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Entomology II, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland
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Girón JC, Tarasov S, González Montaña LA, Matentzoglu N, Smith AD, Koch M, Boudinot BE, Bouchard P, Burks R, Vogt L, Yoder M, Osumi-Sutherland D, Friedrich F, Beutel RG, Mikó I. Formalizing Invertebrate Morphological Data: A Descriptive Model for Cuticle-Based Skeleto-Muscular Systems, an Ontology for Insect Anatomy, and their Potential Applications in Biodiversity Research and Informatics. Syst Biol 2023; 72:1084-1100. [PMID: 37094905 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syad025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The spectacular radiation of insects has produced a stunning diversity of phenotypes. During the past 250 years, research on insect systematics has generated hundreds of terms for naming and comparing them. In its current form, this terminological diversity is presented in natural language and lacks formalization, which prohibits computer-assisted comparison using semantic web technologies. Here we propose a Model for Describing Cuticular Anatomical Structures (MoDCAS) which incorporates structural properties and positional relationships for standardized, consistent, and reproducible descriptions of arthropod phenotypes. We applied the MoDCAS framework in creating the ontology for the Anatomy of the Insect Skeleto-Muscular system (AISM). The AISM is the first general insect ontology that aims to cover all taxa by providing generalized, fully logical, and queryable, definitions for each term. It was built using the Ontology Development Kit (ODK), which maximizes interoperability with Uberon (Uberon multispecies anatomy ontology) and other basic ontologies, enhancing the integration of insect anatomy into the broader biological sciences. A template system for adding new terms, extending, and linking the AISM to additional anatomical, phenotypic, genetic, and chemical ontologies is also introduced. The AISM is proposed as the backbone for taxon-specific insect ontologies and has potential applications spanning systematic biology and biodiversity informatics, allowing users to: 1) use controlled vocabularies and create semiautomated computer-parsable insect morphological descriptions; 2) integrate insect morphology into broader fields of research, including ontology-informed phylogenetic methods, logical homology hypothesis testing, evo-devo studies, and genotype to phenotype mapping; and 3) automate the extraction of morphological data from the literature, enabling the generation of large-scale phenomic data, by facilitating the production and testing of informatic tools able to extract, link, annotate, and process morphological data. This descriptive model and its ontological applications will allow for clear and semantically interoperable integration of arthropod phenotypes in biodiversity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Girón
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Sergei Tarasov
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | | | | | - Aaron D Smith
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Markus Koch
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Brendon E Boudinot
- Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, CA, USA
- Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Erbertstraße 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA
| | - Patrice Bouchard
- Biodiversity and Bioresources, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0C6, Canada
| | - Roger Burks
- Entomology Department, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Ave. Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Lars Vogt
- TIB Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology, Welfengarten 1B, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Matthew Yoder
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | - Frank Friedrich
- Institut für Zell- und Systembiologie der Tiere, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rolf G Beutel
- Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Erbertstraße 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - István Mikó
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
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Brain Data Standards - A method for building data-driven cell-type ontologies. Sci Data 2023; 10:50. [PMID: 36693887 PMCID: PMC9873614 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01886-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Large-scale single-cell 'omics profiling is being used to define a complete catalogue of brain cell types, something that traditional methods struggle with due to the diversity and complexity of the brain. But this poses a problem: How do we organise such a catalogue - providing a standard way to refer to the cell types discovered, linking their classification and properties to supporting data? Cell ontologies provide a partial solution to these problems, but no existing ontology schemas support the definition of cell types by direct reference to supporting data, classification of cell types using classifications derived directly from data, or links from cell types to marker sets along with confidence scores. Here we describe a generally applicable schema that solves these problems and its application in a semi-automated pipeline to build a data-linked extension to the Cell Ontology representing cell types in the Primary Motor Cortex of humans, mice and marmosets. The methods and resulting ontology are designed to be scalable and applicable to similar whole-brain atlases currently in preparation.
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Jiang M, Jian J, Zhou C, Li L, Wang Y, Zhang W, Song Z, Yang J. Does integument arise de novo or from pre-existing structures? ── Insights from the key regulatory genes controlling integument development. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1078248. [PMID: 36714739 PMCID: PMC9880897 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1078248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The origin of seeds is one of the key innovations in land plant evolution. Ovules are the developmental precursors of seeds. The integument is the envelope structure surrounding the nucellus within the ovule and developing into the seed coat when ovules mature upon fertilization. The question of whether the integument arise de novo or evolve from elaboration of pre-existing structures has caused much debate. By exploring the origin and evolution of the key regulatory genes controlling integument development and their functions during both individual and historical developmental processes, we showed the widespread presence of the homologs of ANT, CUC, BEL1, SPL, C3HDZ, INO, ATS, and ETT in seedless plant genomes. All of these genes have undergone duplication-divergence events in their evolutionary history, with most of the descendant paralogous suffering motif gain and/or loss in the coding regions. Expression and functional characterization have shown that these genes are key components of the genetic program that patterns leaf-like lateral organs. Serial homology can thus be postulated between integuments and other lateral organs in terms of the shared master regulatory genes. Given that the genetic program patterning leaf-like lateral organs formed in seedless plants, and was reused during seed origin, the integument is unlikely to arise de novo but evolved from the stem segment-specific modification of pre-existing serially homologous structures. The master 'switches' trigging the modification to specify the integument identity remain unclear. We propose a successive transformation model of integument origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Jiang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinjing Jian
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chengchuan Zhou
- Institute of Tree Genetics Breeding and Cultivation, Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, Nanchang, China
| | - Linfeng Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuguo Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenju Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhiping Song
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ji Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China
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