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Shelley S, James RS, Eustace SJ, Eyre E, Tallis J. Effect of stimulation frequency on force, power, and fatigue of isolated mouse extensor digitorum longus muscle. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275021. [PMID: 35413119 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243285] [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: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the effect of stimulation frequency (140, 200, 230 and 260 Hz) on isometric force, work loop (WL) power, and the fatigue resistance of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle (n=32), isolated from 8-10-week-old CD-1 female mice. Stimulation frequency had significant effects on isometric properties of isolated mouse EDL, whereby increasing stimulation frequency evoked increased isometric force, quicker activation, and prolonged relaxation (P <0.047), until 230 Hz and above, thereafter force and activation did not differ (P >0.137). Increasing stimulation frequency increased maximal WL power output (P <0.001; 140 Hz, 71.3±3.5; 200 Hz, 105.4±4.1; 230 Hz, 115.5±4.1; 260 Hz, 121.1±4.1 W.kg-1), but resulted in significantly quicker rates of fatigue during consecutive WL's (P <0.004). WL shapes indicate impaired muscle relaxation at the end of shortening and subsequent increased negative work appeared to contribute to fatigue at 230 and 260 Hz, but not at lower stimulation frequencies. Cumulative work was unaffected by stimulation frequency, except at the start of fatigue protocol where 230 and 260 Hz produced more work than 140 Hz (P <0.039). We demonstrate that stimulation frequency affects force, power, and fatigue, but effects are not uniform between different assessments of contractile performance. Therefore, future work examining contractile properties of isolated skeletal muscle should consider increasing stimulation frequency beyond that needed for maximal force when examining maximal power but utilise a sub-maximal stimulation frequency for fatigue assessments to avoid high degree of negative work atypical of in vivo function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharn Shelley
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
| | - Rob S James
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
| | - Steven J Eustace
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
| | - Emma Eyre
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
| | - Jason Tallis
- Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
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Adam I, Maxwell A, Rößler H, Hansen EB, Vellema M, Brewer J, Elemans CPH. One-to-one innervation of vocal muscles allows precise control of birdsong. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3115-3124.e5. [PMID: 34089645 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The motor control resolution of any animal behavior is limited to the minimal force step available when activating muscles, which is set by the number and size distribution of motor units (MUs) and muscle-specific force. Birdsong is an excellent model system for understanding acquisition and maintenance of complex fine motor skills, but we know surprisingly little about how the motor pool controlling the syrinx is organized and how MU recruitment drives changes in vocal output. Here we developed an experimental paradigm to measure MU size distribution using spatiotemporal imaging of intracellular calcium concentration in cross-sections of living intact syrinx muscles. We combined these measurements with muscle stress and an in vitro syrinx preparation to determine the control resolution of fundamental frequency (fo), a key vocal parameter, in zebra finches. We show that syringeal muscles have extremely small MUs, with 40%-50% innervating ≤3 and 13%-17% innervating a single muscle fiber. Combined with the lowest specific stress (5 mN/mm2) known to skeletal vertebrate muscle, small force steps by the major fo controlling muscle provide control of 50-mHz to 7.3-Hz steps per MU. We show that the song system has the highest motor control resolution possible in the vertebrate nervous system and suggest this evolved due to strong selection on fine gradation of vocal output. Furthermore, we propose that high-resolution motor control was a key feature contributing to the radiation of songbirds that allowed diversification of song and speciation by vocal space expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Adam
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Alyssa Maxwell
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Helen Rößler
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Emil B Hansen
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Michiel Vellema
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Jonathan Brewer
- PhyLife, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Coen P H Elemans
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
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A biomechanical paradox in fish: swimming and suction feeding produce orthogonal strain gradients in the axial musculature. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10334. [PMID: 33990621 PMCID: PMC8121803 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88828-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The axial musculature of fishes has historically been characterized as the powerhouse for explosive swimming behaviors. However, recent studies show that some fish also use their ‘swimming’ muscles to generate over 90% of the power for suction feeding. Can the axial musculature achieve high power output for these two mechanically distinct behaviors? Muscle power output is enhanced when all of the fibers within a muscle shorten at optimal velocity. Yet, axial locomotion produces a mediolateral gradient of muscle strain that should force some fibers to shorten too slowly and others too fast. This mechanical problem prompted research into the gearing of fish axial muscle and led to the discovery of helical fiber orientations that homogenize fiber velocities during swimming, but does such a strain gradient also exist and pose a problem for suction feeding? We measured muscle strain in bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus, and found that suction feeding produces a gradient of longitudinal strain that, unlike the mediolateral gradient for locomotion, occurs along the dorsoventral axis. A dorsoventral strain gradient within a muscle with fiber architecture shown to counteract a mediolateral gradient suggests that bluegill sunfish should not be able to generate high power outputs from the axial muscle during suction feeding—yet prior work shows that they do, up to 438 W kg−1. Solving this biomechanical paradox may be critical to understanding how many fishes have co-opted ‘swimming’ muscles into a suction feeding powerhouse.
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Moss RL, Solaro RJ. The enduring relationship between myosin enzymatic activity and the speed of muscle contraction. J Gen Physiol 2019; 151:623-627. [PMID: 30890556 PMCID: PMC6504292 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201912323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Moss and Solaro recall Bárány’s landmark study that identified myosin ATPase as the fundamental driver of contraction speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard L Moss
- Cardiovascular Research Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
| | - R John Solaro
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
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5
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Simultaneous production of two kinds of sounds in relation with sonic mechanism in the boxfish Ostracion meleagris and O. cubicus. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4962. [PMID: 30899084 PMCID: PMC6428821 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41198-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
In fishes, sonic abilities for communication purpose usually involve a single mechanism. We describe here the sonic mechanism and sounds in two species of boxfish, the spotted trunkfish Ostracion meleagris and the yellow boxfish Ostracion cubicus. The sonic mechanism utilizes a T-shaped swimbladder with a swimbladder fenestra and two separate sonic muscle pairs. Extrinsic vertical muscles attach to the vertebral column and the swimbladder. Perpendicularly and below these muscles, longitudinal intrinsic muscles cover the swimbladder fenestra. Sounds are exceptional since they are made of two distinct types produced in a sequence. In both species, humming sounds consist of long series (up to 45 s) of hundreds of regular low-amplitude pulses. Hums are often interspersed with irregular click sounds with an amplitude that is ten times greater in O. meleagris and forty times greater in O. cubicus. There is no relationship between fish size and many acoustic characteristics because muscle contraction rate dictates the fundamental frequency. We suggest that hums and clicks are produced by either separate muscles or by a combination of the two. The mechanism complexity supports an investment of boxfish in this communication channel and underline sounds as having important functions in their way of life.
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Nelson FE, Hollingworth S, Marx JO, Baylor SM, Rome LC. Small Ca 2+ releases enable hour-long high-frequency contractions in midshipman swimbladder muscle. J Gen Physiol 2017; 150:127-143. [PMID: 29259040 PMCID: PMC5749108 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201711760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The swimbladder muscle of the Pacific midshipman fish contracts up to 360,000 times in an hour while generating mating calls. Using experimental measurements and computational modeling, Nelson et al. reveal the Ca2+ handling that permits these superfast muscle fibers to sustain high-frequency calling. Type I males of the Pacific midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) vibrate their swimbladder to generate mating calls, or “hums,” that attract females to their nests. In contrast to the intermittent calls produced by male Atlantic toadfish (Opsanus tau), which occur with a duty cycle (calling time divided by total time) of only 3–8%, midshipman can call continuously for up to an hour. With 100% duty cycles and frequencies of 50–100 Hz (15°C), the superfast muscle fibers that surround the midshipman swimbladder may contract and relax as many as 360,000 times in 1 h. The energy for this activity is supported by a large volume of densely packed mitochondria that are found in the peripheral and central regions of the fiber. The remaining fiber cross section contains contractile filaments and a well-developed network of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and triadic junctions. Here, to understand quantitatively how Ca2+ is managed by midshipman fibers during calling, we measure (a) the Ca2+ pumping-versus-pCa and force-versus-pCa relations in skinned fiber bundles and (b) changes in myoplasmic free [Ca2+] (Δ[Ca2+]) during stimulated activity of individual fibers microinjected with the Ca2+ indicators Mag-fluo-4 and Fluo-4. As in toadfish, the force–pCa relation in midshipman is strongly right-shifted relative to the Ca2+ pumping–pCa relation, and contractile activity is controlled in a synchronous, not asynchronous, fashion during electrical stimulation. SR Ca2+ release per action potential is, however, approximately eightfold smaller in midshipman than in toadfish. Midshipman fibers have a larger time-averaged free [Ca2+] during activity than toadfish fibers, which permits faster Ca2+ pumping because the Ca2+ pumps work closer to their maximum rate. Even with midshipman’s sustained release and pumping of Ca2+, however, the Ca2+ energy cost of calling (per kilogram wet weight) is less than twofold more in midshipman than in toadfish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank E Nelson
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.,The Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA.,Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Stephen Hollingworth
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - James O Marx
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Stephen M Baylor
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Lawrence C Rome
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA .,The Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA
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7
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Mead AF, Osinalde N, Ørtenblad N, Nielsen J, Brewer J, Vellema M, Adam I, Scharff C, Song Y, Frandsen U, Blagoev B, Kratchmarova I, Elemans CP. Fundamental constraints in synchronous muscle limit superfast motor control in vertebrates. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 29165242 PMCID: PMC5699865 DOI: 10.7554/elife.29425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Superfast muscles (SFMs) are extremely fast synchronous muscles capable of contraction rates up to 250 Hz, enabling precise motor execution at the millisecond time scale. SFM phenotypes have been discovered in most major vertebrate lineages, but it remains unknown whether all SFMs share excitation-contraction coupling pathway adaptations for speed, and if SFMs arose once, or from independent evolutionary events. Here, we demonstrate that to achieve rapid actomyosin crossbridge kinetics bat and songbird SFM express myosin heavy chain genes that are evolutionarily and ontologically distinct. Furthermore, we show that all known SFMs share multiple functional adaptations that minimize excitation-contraction coupling transduction times. Our results suggest that SFM evolved independently in sound-producing organs in ray-finned fish, birds, and mammals, and that SFM phenotypes operate at a maximum operational speed set by fundamental constraints in synchronous muscle. Consequentially, these constraints set a fundamental limit to the maximum speed of fine motor control. Across animals, different muscle types have evolved to perform vastly different tasks at different speeds. For example, tortoise leg muscles move slowly over several seconds, while the flight muscles of a hummingbird move quickly dozens of times per second. The speed record holders among vertebrates are the so-called superfast muscles, which can move up to 250 times per second. Superfast muscles power the alarming rattle of rattlesnakes, courtship calls in fish, rapid echolocation calls in bats and the elaborate vocal gymnastics of songbirds. Thus these extreme muscles are all around us and are always involved in sound production. Did superfast muscles evolve from a common ancestor? And how do different superfast muscles achieve their extreme behavior? To answer these questions, Mead et al. studied the systems known to limit contraction speed in all currently known superfast muscles found in rattlesnakes, toadfish, bats and songbirds. This revealed that all the muscles share certain specific adaptations that allow superfast contractions. Furthermore, the three fastest examples – toadfish, songbird and bat – have nearly identical maximum speeds. Although this appears to support the idea that the adaptations all evolved from a shared ancestor, Mead et al. found evidence that suggests otherwise. Each of the three superfast muscles are powered by a different motor protein, which argues strongly in favor of the muscles evolving independently. The existence of such similar mechanisms and performance in independently evolved muscles raises the possibility that the fastest contraction rates measured by Mead et al. represent a maximum speed limit for all vertebrate muscles. Any technical failure in a racecar most likely will slow it down, while the same failure in a robustly engineered family car may not be so noticeable. Similarly in superfast muscle many cellular and molecular systems need to perform maximally. Therefore by understanding how these extreme muscles work, we also gain a better understanding of how normal muscles contract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F Mead
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Nerea Osinalde
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Niels Ørtenblad
- Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Joachim Nielsen
- Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Jonathan Brewer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Michiel Vellema
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Iris Adam
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Yafeng Song
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Ulrik Frandsen
- Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Blagoy Blagoev
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Irina Kratchmarova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Coen Ph Elemans
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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van Leeuwen JL, Voesenek CJ, Müller UK. How body torque and Strouhal number change with swimming speed and developmental stage in larval zebrafish. J R Soc Interface 2016; 12:0479. [PMID: 26269230 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Small undulatory swimmers such as larval zebrafish experience both inertial and viscous forces, the relative importance of which is indicated by the Reynolds number (Re). Re is proportional to swimming speed (vswim) and body length; faster swimming reduces the relative effect of viscous forces. Compared with adults, larval fish experience relatively high (mainly viscous) drag during cyclic swimming. To enhance thrust to an equally high level, they must employ a high product of tail-beat frequency and (peak-to-peak) amplitude fAtail, resulting in a relatively high fAtail/vswim ratio (Strouhal number, St), and implying relatively high lateral momentum shedding and low propulsive efficiency. Using kinematic and inverse-dynamics analyses, we studied cyclic swimming of larval zebrafish aged 2-5 days post-fertilization (dpf). Larvae at 4-5 dpf reach higher f (95 Hz) and Atail (2.4 mm) than at 2 dpf (80 Hz, 1.8 mm), increasing swimming speed and Re, indicating increasing muscle powers. As Re increases (60 → 1400), St (2.5 → 0.72) decreases nonlinearly towards values of large swimmers (0.2-0.6), indicating increased propulsive efficiency with vswim and age. Swimming at high St is associated with high-amplitude body torques and rotations. Low propulsive efficiencies and large yawing amplitudes are unavoidable physical constraints for small undulatory swimmers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan L van Leeuwen
- Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Gelderland, The Netherlands
| | - Cees J Voesenek
- Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Gelderland, The Netherlands
| | - Ulrike K Müller
- Department of Biology, California State University Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA
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Fuxjager MJ, Goller F, Dirkse A, Sanin GD, Garcia S. Select forelimb muscles have evolved superfast contractile speed to support acrobatic social displays. eLife 2016; 5:e13544. [PMID: 27067379 PMCID: PMC4829423 DOI: 10.7554/elife.13544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species perform rapid limb movements as part of their elaborate courtship displays. However, because muscle performance is constrained by trade-offs between contraction speed and force, it is unclear how animals evolve the ability to produce both unusually fast appendage movement and limb force needed for locomotion. To address this issue, we compare the twitch speeds of forelimb muscles in a group of volant passerine birds, which produce different courtship displays. Our results show that the two taxa that perform exceptionally fast wing displays have evolved 'superfast' contractile kinetics in their main humeral retractor muscle. By contrast, the two muscles that generate the majority of aerodynamic force for flight show unmodified contractile kinetics. Altogether, these results suggest that muscle-specific adaptations in contractile speed allow certain birds to circumvent the intrinsic trade-off between muscular speed and force, and thereby use their forelimbs for both rapid gestural displays and powered locomotion. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13544.001 Many animals court mates and fight with rivals by performing physically elaborate and showy displays. From male fiddler crabs waving their claws to attract females, to the leaping dances of whooping cranes, these displays often involve remarkably fast limb movements. However, in many cases it is puzzling how animals can perform these behaviors, because the muscles that move the limbs are often geared to produce strength for walking, running or flying, and not speed. Indeed, decades of research in animal physiology has confirmed that limb-moving muscles can contract with either great strength or great speed, but never both. A small group of tropical birds called manakins produce different types of courtship displays, including some in which the wings are moved extremely rapidly. To date, nobody has examined if or how the limb muscles can generate such superfast movements. Fuxjager et al. now show that, in two species of manakins that produce rapid wing movements as part of their courtship displays, one of the main wing muscles has evolved to move the wings at superfast speeds. In fact, this muscle can move the wing at speeds that are more than twice as fast as those required for these birds to fly, and appears to be the fastest limb muscle on record for any animal with a backbone. Fuxjager et al. also show that the manakins’ other wing muscles are no different from other birds, and suggest that these muscles are preserved to produce the strength needed for flying. Further studies could now explore how this one muscle can create such superfast wing movements and whether male hormones, like testosterone, play a role in regulating the muscle’s speed. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13544.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, United States
| | - Franz Goller
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
| | - Annika Dirkse
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, United States
| | - Gloria D Sanin
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, United States
| | - Sarah Garcia
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
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10
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Li G, Müller UK, van Leeuwen JL, Liu H. Fish larvae exploit edge vortices along their dorsal and ventral fin folds to propel themselves. J R Soc Interface 2016; 13:20160068. [PMID: 27009180 PMCID: PMC4843680 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Larvae of bony fish swim in the intermediate Reynolds number (Re) regime, using body- and caudal-fin undulation to propel themselves. They share a median fin fold that transforms into separate median fins as they grow into juveniles. The fin fold was suggested to be an adaption for locomotion in the intermediate Reynolds regime, but its fluid-dynamic role is still enigmatic. Using three-dimensional fluid-dynamic computations, we quantified the swimming trajectory from body-shape changes during cyclic swimming of larval fish. We predicted unsteady vortices around the upper and lower edges of the fin fold, and identified similar vortices around real larvae with particle image velocimetry. We show that thrust contributions on the body peak adjacent to the upper and lower edges of the fin fold where large left-right pressure differences occur in concert with the periodical generation and shedding of edge vortices. The fin fold enhances effective flow separation and drag-based thrust. Along the body, net thrust is generated in multiple zones posterior to the centre of mass. Counterfactual simulations exploring the effect of having a fin fold across a range of Reynolds numbers show that the fin fold helps larvae achieve high swimming speeds, yet requires high power. We conclude that propulsion in larval fish partly relies on unsteady high-intensity vortices along the upper and lower edges of the fin fold, providing a functional explanation for the omnipresence of the fin fold in bony-fish larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen Li
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan Shanghai-Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Centre (SJTU-CU ICRC), 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Ulrike K Müller
- Department of Biology, California State University, 2555 E San Ramon Avenue, Fresno, CA 93740, USA
| | - Johan L van Leeuwen
- Experimental Zoology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Hao Liu
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan Shanghai-Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Centre (SJTU-CU ICRC), 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
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12
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Elemans CPH, Mensinger AF, Rome LC. Vocal production complexity correlates with neural instructions in the oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 217:1887-93. [PMID: 24577450 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.097444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Sound communication is fundamental to many social interactions and essential to courtship and agonistic behaviours in many vertebrates. The swimbladder and associated muscles in batrachoidid fishes (midshipman and toadfish) is a unique vertebrate sound production system, wherein fundamental frequencies are determined directly by the firing rate of a vocal-acoustic neural network that drives the contraction frequency of superfast swimbladder muscles. The oyster toadfish boatwhistle call starts with an irregular sound waveform that could be an emergent property of the peripheral nonlinear sound-producing system or reflect complex encoding in the central nervous system. Here, we demonstrate that the start of the boatwhistle is indicative of a chaotic strange attractor, and tested whether its origin lies in the peripheral sound-producing system or in the vocal motor network. We recorded sound and swimbladder muscle activity in awake, freely behaving toadfish during motor nerve stimulation, and recorded sound, motor nerve and muscle activity during spontaneous grunts. The results show that rhythmic motor volleys do not cause complex sound signals. However, arrhythmic recruitment of swimbladder muscle during spontaneous grunts correlates with complex sounds. This supports the hypothesis that the irregular start of the boatwhistle is encoded in the vocal pre-motor neural network, and not caused by peripheral interactions with the sound-producing system. We suggest that sound production system demands across vocal tetrapods have selected for muscles and motorneurons adapted for speed, which can execute complex neural instructions into equivalently complex vocalisations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coen P H Elemans
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Allen F Mensinger
- The Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Department of Biology, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
| | - Lawrence C Rome
- The Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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13
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Düring DN, Ziegler A, Thompson CK, Ziegler A, Faber C, Müller J, Scharff C, Elemans CPH. The songbird syrinx morphome: a three-dimensional, high-resolution, interactive morphological map of the zebra finch vocal organ. BMC Biol 2013; 11:1. [PMID: 23294804 PMCID: PMC3539882 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-11-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Like human infants, songbirds learn their species-specific vocalizations through imitation learning. The birdsong system has emerged as a widely used experimental animal model for understanding the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for vocal production learning. However, how neural impulses are translated into the precise motor behavior of the complex vocal organ (syrinx) to create song is poorly understood. First and foremost, we lack a detailed understanding of syringeal morphology. RESULTS To fill this gap we combined non-invasive (high-field magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography) and invasive techniques (histology and micro-dissection) to construct the annotated high-resolution three-dimensional dataset, or morphome, of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) syrinx. We identified and annotated syringeal cartilage, bone and musculature in situ in unprecedented detail. We provide interactive three-dimensional models that greatly improve the communication of complex morphological data and our understanding of syringeal function in general. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the syringeal skeleton is optimized for low weight driven by physiological constraints on song production. The present refinement of muscle organization and identity elucidates how apposed muscles actuate different syringeal elements. Our dataset allows for more precise predictions about muscle co-activation and synergies and has important implications for muscle activity and stimulation experiments. We also demonstrate how the syrinx can be stabilized during song to reduce mechanical noise and, as such, enhance repetitive execution of stereotypic motor patterns. In addition, we identify a cartilaginous structure suited to play a crucial role in the uncoupling of sound frequency and amplitude control, which permits a novel explanation of the evolutionary success of songbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel N Düring
- Verhaltensbiologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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14
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Edwards JN, Cully TR, Shannon TR, Stephenson DG, Launikonis BS. Longitudinal and transversal propagation of excitation along the tubular system of rat fast-twitch muscle fibres studied by high speed confocal microscopy. J Physiol 2011; 590:475-92. [PMID: 22155929 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian skeletal muscle fibres possess a tubular (t-) system that consists of regularly spaced transverse elements which are also connected in the longitudinal direction. This tubular network provides a pathway for the propagation of action potentials (APs) both radially and longitudinally within the fibre, but little is known about the actual radial and longitudinal AP conduction velocities along the tubular network in mammalian skeletal muscle fibres. The aim of this study was to track AP propagation within the t-system network of fast-twitch rat muscle fibres with high spatio-temporal resolution when the t-system was isolated from the surface membrane. For this we used high speed confocal imaging of AP-induced Ca(2+) release in contraction-suppressed mechanically skinned fast-twitch fibres where the t-system can be electrically excited in the absence of the surface membrane. Supramaximal field pulses normally elicited a synchronous AP-induced release of Ca(2+) along one side of the fibre axis which propagated uniformly across the fibre. In some cases up to 80 or more adjacent transverse tubules failed to be excited by the field pulse, while adjacent areas responded with normal Ca(2+) release. In these cases a continuous front of Ca(2+) release with an angle to the scanning line was observed due to APs propagating longitudinally. From these observations the radial/transversal and longitudinal AP conduction velocities along the tubular network deeper in the fibre under our conditions (19 ± 1°C) ranged between 8 and 11 μm ms(-1) and 5 to 9 μm ms(-1), respectively, using different methods of estimation. The longitudinal propagation of APs appeared to be markedly faster closer to the edge of the fibre, in agreement with the presence of dense longitudinal connections immediately below the surface of the fibre and more sparse connections at deeper planes within the fibre. During long trains of closely spaced field pulses the AP-elicited Ca(2+) releases became non-synchronous along the fibre axis. This is most likely caused by local tubular K(+) accumulation that produces local depolarization and local slowing of AP propagation. Longitudinally propagating APs may reduce such inhomogeneities by exciting areas of delayed AP onset. Clearly, the longitudinal tubular pathways within the fibre for excitation are used as a safety mechanism in situations where a local depolarization obstructs immediate excitation from the sarcolemma. Results obtained from this study also provide an explanation for the pattern of contractures observed in rippling muscle disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua N Edwards
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia
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15
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Harwood CL, Young IS, Tikunov BA, Hollingworth S, Baylor SM, Rome LC. Paying the piper: the cost of Ca2+ pumping during the mating call of toadfish. J Physiol 2011; 589:5467-84. [PMID: 21946852 PMCID: PMC3240885 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.211979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2011] [Accepted: 09/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Superfast fibres of toadfish swimbladder muscle generate a series of superfast Ca(2+) transients, a necessity for high-frequency calling. How is this accomplished with a relatively low rate of Ca(2+) pumping by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)? We hypothesized that there may not be complete Ca(2+) saturation and desaturation of the troponin Ca(2+) regulatory sites with each twitch during calling. To test this, we determined the number of regulatory sites by measuring the concentration of troponin C (TNC) molecules, 33.8 μmol per kg wet weight. We then estimated how much SR Ca(2+) is released per twitch by measuring the recovery oxygen consumption in the presence of a crossbridge blocker, N-benzyl-p-toluene sulphonamide (BTS). The results agreed closely with SR release estimates obtained with a kinetic model used to analyse Ca(2+) transient measurements. We found that 235 μmol of Ca(2+) per kg muscle is released with the first twitch of an 80 Hz stimulus (15(o)C). Release per twitch declines dramatically thereafter such that by the 10th twitch release is only 48 μmol kg(-1) (well below the concentration of TNC Ca(2+) regulatory sites, 67.6 μmol kg(-1)). The ATP usage per twitch by the myosin crossbridges remains essentially constant at ∼25 μmol kg(-1) throughout the stimulus period. Hence, for the first twitch, ∼80% of the energy goes into pumping Ca(2+) (which uses 1 ATP per 2 Ca(2+) ions pumped), but by the 10th and subsequent twitches the proportion is ∼50%. Even though by the 10th stimulus the Ca(2+) release per twitch has dropped 5-fold, the Ca(2+) remaining in the SR has declined by only ∼18%; hence dwindling SR Ca(2+) content is not responsible for the drop. Rather, inactivation of the Ca(2+) release channel by myoplasmic Ca(2+) likely explains this reduction. If inactivation did not occur, the SR would run out of Ca(2+) well before the end of even a 40-twitch call. Hence, inactivation of the Ca(2+) release channel plays a critical role in swimbladder muscle during normal in vivo function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire L Harwood
- L. C. Rome: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 and the Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
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16
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Is high concentration of parvalbumin a requirement for superfast relaxation? J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2009; 30:57-65. [PMID: 19387850 DOI: 10.1007/s10974-009-9175-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2009] [Accepted: 03/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
It is generally thought that the rapid relaxation of fast muscles is facilitated by the Ca(2+) binding protein parvalbumin (Parv). Indeed superfast swimbladder (SWB) muscle of toadfish contains the largest concentration of this protein ever observed (up to 1.5 mM). At 15 degrees C toadfish perform a 100 Hz call, 400 ms in duration, followed by a long (5-15 s) intercall interval. It has been proposed that Parv helps sequester the Ca(2+) during the call, and then Ca(2+) unbinds and is pumped back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum during the long intercall interval. Midshipman (Porichthys notatus) is another fish which calls at a high frequency; 80-100 Hz at a temperature of 12-15 degrees C. However, unlike toadfish, midshipman call with a 100% duty cycle. Without an intercall interval, Parv would seem of little use as it would become saturated early in calling. Here we show that the midshipman SWB has only about 1/8th of the Parv in toadfish. Moreover, total Parv content in calling male midshipman SWB was not different from that in the non-calling female and the much slower locomotory muscles. These data suggest that Parv does not play a large role in the calling of midshipman, which is accomplished without a high concentration of this protein. Native gel-electrophoresis also revealed presence of three major (PA-I, PA-II and PA-III) and two minor (PA-Ia and PA-IIIa, <5% of total content) Parv isoforms in adult toadfish SWB. Midshipman SWB contained about equal amounts of PA-I and PA-II and also a small (approximately 10%) amount of PA-III. By amino acid composition, toadfish PA-Ia and PA-I isoforms were different from PA-II and PA-III isoforms (by 24 and 14 residues, respectively).
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17
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Frequency-dependent power output and skeletal muscle design. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2009; 152:407-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2008.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2008] [Revised: 09/12/2008] [Accepted: 11/16/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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18
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Elemans CPH, Mead AF, Rome LC, Goller F. Superfast vocal muscles control song production in songbirds. PLoS One 2008; 3:e2581. [PMID: 18612467 PMCID: PMC2440420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2008] [Accepted: 05/28/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Birdsong is a widely used model for vocal learning and human speech, which exhibits high temporal and acoustic diversity. Rapid acoustic modulations are thought to arise from the vocal organ, the syrinx, by passive interactions between the two independent sound generators or intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of sound generating structures. Additionally, direct neuromuscular control could produce such rapid and precisely timed acoustic features if syringeal muscles exhibit rare superfast muscle contractile kinetics. However, no direct evidence exists that avian vocal muscles can produce modulations at such high rates. Here, we show that 1) syringeal muscles are active in phase with sound modulations during song over 200 Hz, 2) direct stimulation of the muscles in situ produces sound modulations at the frequency observed during singing, and that 3) syringeal muscles produce mechanical work at the required frequencies and up to 250 Hz in vitro. The twitch kinematics of these so-called superfast muscles are the fastest measured in any vertebrate muscle. Superfast vocal muscles enable birds to directly control the generation of many observed rapid acoustic changes and to actuate the millisecond precision of neural activity into precise temporal vocal control. Furthermore, birds now join the list of vertebrate classes in which superfast muscle kinetics evolved independently for acoustic communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coen P H Elemans
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.
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19
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Thompson JT, Szczepanski JA, Brody J. Mechanical specialization of the obliquely striated circular mantle muscle fibres of the long-finned squidDoryteuthis pealeii. J Exp Biol 2008; 211:1463-74. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.017160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYThe centrally located, mitochondria-poor (CMP) and superficially located,mitochondria-rich (SMR) circular muscle fibres in the mantles of some squids provide one of the few known examples of specialization in an obliquely striated muscle. Little is known of the mechanical properties or of the mechanisms and performance consequences of specialization in these fibres. We combined morphological and physiological approaches to study specialization in the SMR and CMP fibres of the long-finned squid Doryteuthis pealeii. The mean thick filament length was 3.12±0.56 μm and 1.78±0.27μm for the SMR and CMP fibres, respectively. The cross-sectional areas of the whole fibre and the core of mitochondria were significantly higher in the SMR fibres, but the area occupied by the myofilaments did not differ between the two fibre types. The area of sarcoplasmic reticulum visible in cross sections was significantly higher in CMP fibres than in SMR fibres. In live bundles of muscle fibres partially isolated from the mantle, mean peak isometric stress during tetanus was significantly greater in SMR [335 mN mm–2 physiological cross section (pcs)] than in CMP (216 mN mm–2 pcs) fibres. SMR fibres had a lower average twitch:tetanus ratio (SMR=0.073; CMP=0.18) and a twofold lower unloaded maximum shortening velocity at 20°C (SMR=2.4 L0s–1; CMP=5.1 L0 s–1),where L0 was the preparation length that yielded the highest tetanic force. The structural differences in the two muscle fibre types play a primary role in determining their mechanical properties, and the significant differences in mechanical properties indicate that squid have two muscle gears. A simple model of the mantle shows that a gradient of strain and strain rate exists across the mantle wall, with fibres adjacent to the outer edge of the mantle experiencing 1.3- to 1.4-fold lower strain and strain rate than fibres adjacent to the inner edge of the mantle. The model also predicts that the CMP fibres generate virtually no power for slow jetting while the SMR fibres are too slow to generate power for the escape jets. The transmural differences in strain and strain rate predicted by the model apply to any cylindrical animal that has circumferentially oriented muscle fibres and an internal body cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph T. Thompson
- Department of Biology, Franklin & Marshall College, PO Box 3003,Lancaster, PA 17604-3003, USA
| | - John A. Szczepanski
- Department of Biology, St Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia,PA 19131, USA
| | - Joshua Brody
- Department of Biology, St Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia,PA 19131, USA
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20
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Parmentier E, Lagardère JP, Braquegnier JB, Vandewalle P, Fine ML. Sound production mechanism in carapid fish: first example with a slow sonic muscle. J Exp Biol 2006; 209:2952-60. [PMID: 16857879 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.02350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYFish sonic swimbladder muscles are the fastest muscles in vertebrates and have fibers with numerous biochemical and structural adaptations for speed. Carapid fishes produce sounds with a complex swimbladder mechanism, including skeletal components and extrinsic sonic muscle fibers with an exceptional helical myofibrillar structure. To study this system we stimulated the sonic muscles, described their insertion and action and generated sounds by slowly pulling the sonic muscles. We find the sonic muscles contract slowly, pulling the anterior bladder and thereby stretching a thin fenestra. Sound is generated when the tension trips a release system that causes the fenestra to snap back to its resting position. The sound frequency does not correspond to the calculated resonant frequency of the bladder, and we hypothesize that it is determined by the snapping fenestra interacting with an overlying bony swimbladder plate. To our knowledge this tension release mechanism is unique in animal sound generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Parmentier
- Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Institut de chimie, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
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21
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Abstract
Superfast muscles of vertebrates power sound production. The fastest, the swimbladder muscle of toadfish, generates mechanical power at frequencies in excess of 200 Hz. To operate at these frequencies, the speed of relaxation has had to increase approximately 50-fold. This increase is accomplished by modifications of three kinetic traits: (a) a fast calcium transient due to extremely high concentration of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)-Ca2+ pumps and parvalbumin, (b) fast off-rate of Ca2+ from troponin C due to an alteration in troponin, and (c) fast cross-bridge detachment rate constant (g, 50 times faster than that in rabbit fast-twitch muscle) due to an alteration in myosin. Although these three modifications permit swimbladder muscle to generate mechanical work at high frequencies (where locomotor muscles cannot), it comes with a cost: The high g causes a large reduction in attached force-generating cross-bridges, making the swimbladder incapable of powering low-frequency locomotory movements. Hence the locomotory and sound-producing muscles have mutually exclusive designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence C Rome
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
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22
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Elemans CPH, Spierts ILY, Hendriks M, Schipper H, Müller UK, van Leeuwen JL. Syringeal muscles fit the trill in ring doves (Streptopelia risoriaL.). J Exp Biol 2006; 209:965-77. [PMID: 16481585 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.02066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYIn contrast to human phonation, the virtuoso vocalizations of most birds are modulated at the level of the sound generator, the syrinx. We address the hypothesis that syringeal muscles are physiologically capable of controlling the sound-generating syringeal membranes in the ring dove (Streptopelia risoria) syrinx. We establish the role of the tracheolateralis muscle and propose a new function for the sternotrachealis muscle. The tracheolateralis and sternotrachealis muscles have an antagonistic mechanical effect on the syringeal aperture. Here, we show that both syringeal muscles can dynamically control the full syringeal aperture. The tracheolateralis muscle is thought to directly alter position and tension of the vibrating syringeal membranes that determine the gating and the frequency of sound elements. Our measurements of the muscle's contractile properties, combined with existing electromyographic and endoscopic evidence, establish its modulating role during the dove's trill. The muscle delivers the highest power output at cycle frequencies that closely match the repetition rates of the fastest sound elements in the coo. We show that the two syringeal muscles share nearly identical contraction characteristics, and that sternotrachealis activity does not clearly modulate during the rapid trill. We propose that the sternotrachealis muscle acts as a damper that stabilizes longitudinal movements of the sound-generating system induced by tracheolateralis muscle contraction. The extreme performance of both syringeal muscles implies that they play an important role in fine-tuning membrane position and tension, which determines the quality of the sound for a conspecific mate.
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Affiliation(s)
- C P H Elemans
- Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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23
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Mensinger AF, Tubbs ME. Effects of temperature and diet on the growth rate of year 0 oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2006; 210:64-71. [PMID: 16501065 DOI: 10.2307/4134537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The effects of temperature and diet on the growth of captive year 0 specimens of Opansus tau were examined for two consecutive year classes. The 2001 year class was raised at about 23, 26, or 29 degrees C and provided with live brine shrimp, frozen butterfish and squid, or commercial food pellets (45% protein, 19% fat, and 3% fiber) three times per week. Maximal growth was achieved with the pellet diet, and fish raised at 29 degrees C attained the highest mean wet weight (84.0 g +/- 14.6 g SE) and fastest instantaneous relative growth rate (IRGR, 1.79% body weight/d). The 2002 year class was raised on the same pellet diet at 31.5 degrees C and fed 3, 5, or 7 times per week. Although more frequent feedings led to significantly greater mean wet weight in the first half of the year, by month 12 there was no significant difference between the three feeding frequencies. These fish weighed approximately 68 g and had an average IRGR of 1.74% body weight/d. The pellet diet during both years was correlated with high survival (> 75%).
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Affiliation(s)
- A F Mensinger
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
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24
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Parmentier E, Fontenelle N, Fine ML, Vandewalle P, Henrist C. Functional morphology of the sonic apparatus inOphidion barbatum (Teleostei, Ophidiidae). J Morphol 2006; 267:1461-8. [PMID: 17103392 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Most soniferous fishes producing sounds with their swimbladder utilize relatively simple mechanisms: contraction and relaxation of a unique pair of sonic muscles cause rapid movements of the swimbladder resulting in sound production. Here we describe the sonic mechanism for Ophidion barbatum, which includes three pairs of sonic muscles, highly transformed vertebral centra and ribs, a neural arch that pivots and a swimbladder whose anterior end is modified into a bony structure, the rocker bone. The ventral and intermediate muscles cause the rocker bone to swivel inward, compressing the swimbladder, and this action is antagonized by the dorsal muscle. Unlike other sonic systems in which the muscle contraction rate determines sound fundamental frequency, we hypothesize that slow contraction of these antagonistic muscles produces a series of cycles of swimbladder vibration.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Parmentier
- Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Institut de chimie, Bât. B6, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
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25
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Elemans CPH, Spierts ILY, Müller UK, Van Leeuwen JL, Goller F. Superfast muscles control dove's trill. Nature 2004; 431:146. [PMID: 15356620 DOI: 10.1038/431146a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Bird songs frequently contain trilling sounds that demand extremely fast vocalization control. Here we show that doves control their syrinx, a vocal organ that is unique to birds, by using superfast muscles. These muscles, which are similar to those that operate highly specialist acoustic organs such as the rattle of the rattlesnake, are among the fastest vertebrate muscles known and could be much more widespread than previously thought if they are the principal muscle type used to control bird songs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coen P H Elemans
- Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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26
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Connaughton MA. Sound generation in the searobin (Prionotus carolinus), a fish with alternate sonic muscle contraction. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004; 207:1643-54. [PMID: 15073197 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.00928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Northern searobin (Prionotus carolinus) contracts its paired sonic muscles alternately rather than simultaneously during sound production. This study describes this phenomenon and examines its effect on sound production by recording sound and EMGs during voluntary and electrically stimulated calls. Sounds produced by a single twitch resulted in a two-part sound representing contraction and relaxation sounds. The relaxation sound of one twitch coincides with the contraction sound of the next twitch of that muscle. Maximum amplitude of evoked sounds occurs between 100 Hz and 140 Hz, approximately half the fundamental frequency of a voluntarily calling fish. The muscle is capable of following electrical stimulation at frequencies of up to 360 Hz. Rapid damping and response over a wide frequency range indicate that the swimbladder is a highly damped, broadly tuned resonator. A consequence of alternate contraction is a 3.3 dB loss in acoustic pressure due to the contraction of a single sonic muscle at a time. This decrease in amplitude is offset by a doubling of fundamental frequency and a constructive interaction between the sides of the bladder, resulting in increased amplitude of each unilaterally produced sound. The alternate contraction of the bilateral sonic muscles represents a novel solution to the inherent trade-off between speed and force of contraction in rapidly contracting sonic muscles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin A Connaughton
- Washington College, Department of Biology, 300 Washington Ave, Chestertown, MD 21620, USA.
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27
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Müller UK, van Leeuwen JL. Swimming of larval zebrafish: ontogeny of body waves and implications for locomotory development. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004; 207:853-68. [PMID: 14747416 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.00821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Fish larvae, like most adult fish, undulate their bodies to propel themselves. A detailed kinematic study of the larval body wave is a prerequisite to formulate a set of functional requirements that the locomotor system must fulfil to generate the observed swimming kinematics. Lateral displacement and curvature profiles were obtained for zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae at 2-21 days post-fertilisation for three swimming behaviours (cyclic swimming, slow starts and fast startle responses) using high-speed video. During cyclic swimming, fish larvae maintain tail beat frequencies of up to 100 Hz. The corresponding longitudinal strains, estimated from the peak curvatures of the midline, reach up to 0.19 in superficial tissue. The strain rate can reach 120 s(-1). The wave of curvature travels along the body at a near-constant rate. Posterior to the stiff head, body-length-specific curvature is high and rises gently along the entire trunk to a maximum value of 6. Burst-and-coast swimming generates similar peak curvatures to cyclic swimming, but curvature rises more steeply from head to tail. Fish larvae exhibit phase shifts of 57-63 degrees between the wave of lateral displacement and the wave of curvature, resulting in a 1:1.2 ratio of body wave length to curvature wave length. During C-starts, muscle strain can reach 0.19 and superficial longitudinal strain rates approach 30 s(-1). Fish larvae do not initiate their escape response with a standing wave of curvature, although their C-starts approach a standing wave as the larvae grow older. The performance demands derived from swimming kinematics suggest that larval axial muscles have very short contraction cycles (10 ms), experience considerable strains (up to 0.2) and strain rates (up to 30 s(-1) in white muscle fibres) yet are able to power swimming for several seconds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike K Müller
- Wageningen University, Experimental Zoology Group, Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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28
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Abstract
For more than 50 years, it has been known that vertebrates engage in a wide range of motor activities and that they possess muscle types with a similarly large range of contractile properties. However, only during the past 15 years has it been shown experimentally that the contractile properties of muscle fibers are well adjusted to their in vivo function. Arriving at this conclusion has required an integrative approach, that is, comparing measurements of muscle fiber properties with measurements of fiber use during normal motor activity. Because the muscles of mammals (and humans) generally are heterogenous in fiber type, this makes it technically very difficult to measure either the contractile properties of different fiber types or their use during normal motor activity. Therefore, many of the advances in the understanding of the design and function of vertebrate muscular systems have come from work on lower vertebrates. Fish, because of the anatomic separation of different muscle fiber types, have provided a key experimental model on which much of what is known about muscle design has been determined. Frogs, because of the near homogeneity of their large extensor muscles used during jumping, also provide an important model which will, in the near future, serve as the first platform where molecular properties of muscle (calcium and cross-bridge kinetics) can be related to whole body movement in a meaningful and predictive manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence C Rome
- Department of Biology, Leidy Labs, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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