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Nojiri T, Werneburg I, Sakai A, Furutera T, Negishi-Koga T, Ishijima M, Ichimura K, Takechi M. Embryonic development and cranial ossification of the Japanese Aodaishō, Elaphe climacophora (Serpentes: Colubridae): with special reference to the prootic bone and auditory evolution in snakes. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38992983 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25539] [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: 04/14/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Snakes show remarkably deviated "body plan" from other squamate reptiles. In addition to limb loss, they have accomplished enormous anatomical specialization of the skull associated with the pit organs and the reduction of the tympanic membranes and auditory canals in the outer ears. Despite being the most diverse group of snakes, our knowledge of the embryonic staging for organogenesis and cranial ossification has been minimal for Colubridae. Therefore, in the present observation, we provide the first embryonic description of the Japanese rat snake Elaphe climacophora. We based our study on the Standard Event System (SES) for external anatomical characters and on a description of the cranial ossification during post-ovipositional development. We further estimated the relative ossification timing of each cranial bony element and compared it with that of selected other snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodilians. The present study shows that the relative ossification timing of the palatine and pterygoid bones is relatively early in squamates when compared to other reptiles, implying the developmental integration as the palate-pterygoid complex in this clade and functional demands for the unique feeding adaptation to swallow large prey with the help of their large palatine and pterygoid teeth. Furthermore, unlike in species with pit organs, the prootic bone of Ela. climacophora is expanded to provide articulation with the supratemporal, thereby contributing to the hearing system by detecting substrate vibration. We also demonstrate that the relative timing of the prootic ossification is significantly accelerated in colubrids compared to snakes with pit organs. Our finding suggests that the temporal changes of the prootic ossification underpin the evolution of the perception of the ground-bourne sound signals among snakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taro Nojiri
- Department of Anatomy and Life Structure, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ingmar Werneburg
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment an der Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Toshiko Furutera
- Department of Anatomy and Life Structure, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takako Negishi-Koga
- Department of Medicine for Orthopedics and Motor Organ, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Community Medicine and Research for Bone and Joint Diseases, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Muneaki Ishijima
- Department of Medicine for Orthopedics and Motor Organ, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Community Medicine and Research for Bone and Joint Diseases, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Koichiro Ichimura
- Department of Anatomy and Life Structure, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaki Takechi
- Department of Anatomy and Life Structure, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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Nojiri T, Werneburg I, Tu VT, Fukui D, Takechi M, Iseki S, Furutera T, Koyabu D. Timing of organogenesis underscores the evolution of neonatal life histories and powered flight in bats. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221928. [PMID: 36629110 PMCID: PMC9832570 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1928] [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: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Bats have undergone one of the most drastic limb innovations in vertebrate history, associated with the evolution of powered flight. Knowledge of the genetic basis of limb organogenesis in bats has increased but little has been documented regarding the differences between limb organogenesis in bats and that of other vertebrates. We conducted embryological comparisons of the timelines of limb organogenesis in 24 bat species and 72 non-bat amniotes. In bats, the time invested for forelimb organogenesis has been considerably extended and the appearance timing of the forelimb ridge has been significantly accelerated, whereas the timing of the finger and first appearance of the claw development has been delayed, facilitating the enlargement of the manus. Furthermore, we discovered that bats initiate the development of their hindlimbs earlier than their forelimbs compared with other placentals. Bat neonates are known to be able to cling continuously with their well-developed foot to the maternal bodies or habitat substrates soon after birth. We suggest that this unique life history of neonates, which possibly coevolved with powered flight, has driven the accelerated development of the hindlimb and precocious foot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taro Nojiri
- Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, 2-1-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, North 11, West 10, Sapporo 060-0811, Japan
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Ingmar Werneburg
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment an der Eberhard Karls Universität, Sigwartstraße 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Eberhard Karls Universität, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Vuong Tan Tu
- Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, No. 18, Hoang Quoc Viet road, Cau Giay district, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Graduate University of Science and Technology, No. 18, Hoang Quac Viet road, Cau Giay district, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Dai Fukui
- The University of Tokyo Hokkaido Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 9-61, Yamabe-Higashimachi, Furano, Hokkaido 079-1563, Japan
| | - Masaki Takechi
- Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, 2-1-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Molecular Craniofacial Embryology, Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
| | - Sachiko Iseki
- Molecular Craniofacial Embryology, Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
| | - Toshiko Furutera
- Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, 2-1-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Molecular Craniofacial Embryology, Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
| | - Daisuke Koyabu
- Molecular Craniofacial Embryology, Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan
- Research and Development Center for Precision Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8550, Japan
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Cordero GA, Werneburg I. Domestication and the comparative embryology of birds. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022; 338:447-459. [PMID: 35604321 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Studies of domesticated animals have greatly contributed to our understanding of avian embryology. Foundational questions in developmental biology were motivated by Aristotle's observations of chicken embryos. By the 19th century, the chicken embryo was at the center stage of developmental biology, but how closely does this model species mirror the ample taxonomic diversity that characterizes the avian tree of life? Here, we provide a brief overview of the taxonomic breadth of comparative embryological studies in birds. We particularly focused on staging tables and papers that attempted to document the timing of developmental transformations. We show that most of the current knowledge of avian embryology is based on Galliformes (chicken and quail) and Anseriformes (duck and goose). Nonetheless, data are available for some ecologically diverse avian subclades, including Struthioniformes (e.g., ostrich, emu) and Sphenisciformes (penguins). Thus far, there has only been a handful of descriptive embryological studies in the most speciose subclade of Aves, that is, the songbirds (Passeriniformes). Furthermore, we found that temporal variances for developmental events are generally uniform across a consensus chronological sequence for birds. Based on the available data, developmental trajectories for chicken and other model species appear to be highly similar. We discuss future avenues of research in comparative avian embryology in light of the currently available wealth of data on domesticated species and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo A Cordero
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Animal Biology, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ingmar Werneburg
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Martynov A, Lundin K, Korshunova T. Ontogeny, Phylotypic Periods, Paedomorphosis, and Ontogenetic Systematics. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.806414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The key terms linking ontogeny and evolution are briefly reviewed. It is shown that their application and usage in the modern biology are often inconsistent and incorrectly understood even within the “evo-devo” field. For instance, the core modern reformulation that ontogeny not merely recapitulates, but produces phylogeny implies that ontogeny and phylogeny are closely interconnected. However, the vast modern phylogenetic and taxonomic fields largely omit ontogeny as a central concept. Instead, the common “clade-” and “tree-thinking” prevail, despite on the all achievements of the evo-devo. This is because the main conceptual basis of the modern biology is fundamentally ontogeny-free. In another words, in the Haeckel’s pair of “ontogeny and phylogeny,” ontogeny is still just a subsidiary for the evolutionary process (and hence, phylogeny), instead as in reality, its main driving force. The phylotypic periods is another important term of the evo-devo and represent a modern reformulation of Haeckel’s recapitulations and biogenetic law. However, surprisingly, this one of the most important biological evidence, based on the natural ontogenetic grounds, in the phylogenetic field that can be alleged as a “non-evolutionary concept.” All these observations clearly imply that a major revision of the main terms which are associated with the “ontogeny and phylogeny/evolution” field is urgently necessarily. Thus, “ontogenetic” is not just an endless addition to the term “systematics,” but instead a crucial term, without it neither systematics, nor biology have sense. To consistently employ the modern ontogenetic and epigenetic achievements, the concept of ontogenetic systematics is hereby refined. Ontogenetic systematics is not merely a “research program” but a key biological discipline which consistently links the enormous biological diversity with underlying fundamental process of ontogeny at both molecular and morphological levels. The paedomorphosis is another widespread ontogenetic-and-evolutionary process that is significantly underestimated or misinterpreted by the current phylogenetics and taxonomy. The term paedomorphosis is refined, as initially proposed to link ontogeny with evolution, whereas “neoteny” and “progenesis” are originally specific, narrow terms without evolutionary context, and should not be used as synonyms of paedomorphosis. Examples of application of the principles of ontogenetic systematics represented by such disparate animal groups as nudibranch molluscs and ophiuroid echinoderms clearly demonstrate that perseverance of the phylotypic periods is based not only on the classic examples in vertebrates, but it is a universal phenomenon in all organisms, including disparate animal phyla.
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Skawiński T, Kuziak P, Kloskowski J, Borczyk B. Phylogenetic Diversity of Ossification Patterns in the Avian Vertebral Column: A Review and New Data from the Domestic Pigeon and Two Species of Grebes. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:180. [PMID: 35205047 PMCID: PMC8869719 DOI: 10.3390/biology11020180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Despite many decades of studies, our knowledge of skeletal development in birds is limited in many aspects. One of them is the development of the vertebral column. For many years it was widely believed that the column ossifies anteroposteriorly. However, later studies indicated that such a pattern is not universal in birds and in many groups the ossification starts in the thoracic rather than cervical region. Recent analyses suggest that two loci, located in the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, were ancestrally present in birds. However, the data on skeletal development are very scarce in the Neoaves, a clade that includes approximately 95% of extant species. We review the available information about the vertebral column development in birds and describe the ossification pattern in three neoavians, the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), the great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) and the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena). In P. cristatus, the vertebral column starts ossifying in the thoracic region. The second locus is present in the cervical vertebrae. In the pigeon, the cervical vertebrae ossify before the thoracics, but both the thoracic and cervical loci are present. Our ancestral state reconstructions confirm that both these loci were ancestrally present in birds, but the thoracic locus was later lost in psittacopasserans and at least some galloanserans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Skawiński
- Department of Palaeozoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland; (P.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Piotr Kuziak
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland; (P.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Janusz Kloskowski
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625 Poznań, Poland;
| | - Bartosz Borczyk
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland; (P.K.); (B.B.)
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