scholarly journals Naked chancelloriids from the lower Cambrian of China show evidence for sponge-type growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1881) ◽  
pp. 20180296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Yun Cong ◽  
Thomas H. P. Harvey ◽  
Mark Williams ◽  
David J. Siveter ◽  
Derek J. Siveter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cambrian ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Axis Formation ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Body Plan Evolution ◽  
Extinct Group

Chancelloriids are an extinct group of spiny Cambrian animals of uncertain phylogenetic position. Despite their sponge-like body plan, their spines are unlike modern sponge spicules, but share several features with the sclerites of certain Cambrian bilaterians, notably halkieriids. However, a proposed homology of these ‘coelosclerites' implies complex transitions in body plan evolution. A new species of chancelloriid, Allonnia nuda , from the lower Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang Lagerstätte is distinguished by its large size and sparse spination, with modified apical sclerites surrounding an opening into the body cavity. The sclerite arrangement in A. nuda and certain other chancelloriids indicates that growth involved sclerite addition in a subapical region, thus maintaining distinct zones of body sclerites and apical sclerites. This pattern is not seen in halkieriids, but occurs in some modern calcarean sponges. With scleritome assembly consistent with a sponge affinity, and in the absence of cnidarian- or bilaterian-grade features, it is possible to interpret chancelloriids as sponges with an unusually robust outer epithelium, strict developmental control of body axis formation, distinctive spicule-like structures and, by implication, minute ostia too small to be resolved in fossils. In this light, chancelloriids may contribute to the emerging picture of high disparity among early sponges.

scholarly journals Expression patterns of signalling molecules and transcription factors in the early rabbit embryo and their significance for modelling amniote axis formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Plöger ◽  
Christoph Viebahn
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
In Situ Hybridisation ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
Anchor Point ◽  
Axis Formation ◽  
Point Model ◽  
Signalling Molecules ◽  
Rabbit Embryo

AbstractThe anterior-posterior axis is a central element of the body plan and, during amniote gastrulation, forms through several transient domains with specific morphogenetic activities. In the chick, experimentally proven activity of signalling molecules and transcription factors lead to the concept of a ‘global positioning system’ for initial axis formation whereas in the (mammotypical) rabbit embryo, a series of morphological or molecular domains are part of a putative ‘three-anchor-point model’. Because circular expression patterns of genes involved in axis formation exist in both amniote groups prior to, and during, gastrulation and may thus be suited to reconcile these models, the expression patterns of selected genes known in the chick, namely the ones coding for the transcription factors eomes and tbx6, the signalling molecule wnt3 and the wnt inhibitor pkdcc, were analysed in the rabbit embryonic disc using in situ hybridisation and placing emphasis on their germ layer location. Peripheral wnt3 and eomes expression in all layers is found initially to be complementary to central pkdcc expression in the hypoblast during early axis formation. Pkdcc then appears — together with a posterior-anterior gradient in wnt3 and eomes domains — in the epiblast posteriorly before the emerging primitive streak is marked by pkdcc and tbx6 at its anterior and posterior extremities, respectively. Conserved circular expression patterns deduced from some of this data may point to shared mechanisms in amniote axis formation while the reshaping of localised gene expression patterns is discussed as part of the ‘three-anchor-point model’ for establishing the mammalian body plan.

The Peri-Renal Tissue of Protopterus A Contribution to the History of the Adrenal

1956 ◽  
Vol s3-97 (37) ◽  
pp. 123-154
Author(s):  
W. HOLMES ◽  
D. E. MOORHOUSE
Keyword(s):  
Small Diameter ◽  
Renal Tissue ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Round Cell ◽  
East African ◽  
Cell Tissue ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Eosinophil Granulocytes

The animal studied was the lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus; the investigation was histological and cytochemical, the material being freshly taken from East African lakes. The peri-renal tissue is a substantial organ which, because it surrounds the kidney, extends through the greater part of the body cavity. Those who have investigated its structure in recent years have considered it to be a haematopoietic organ. A wide variety of histological, histochemical, and haematological techniques was used. The organ is shown to contain five characteristic kinds of tissue; these are named: lipid, endothelial, pigmented, round-cell, and steroid tissue respectively. The lipid tissue is characterized by cytoplasmic liposomes--droplets containing phospholipid. In one type of cell, the ‘small lipid cell’, which may be related to the eosinophil granulocytes of the blood, the droplets have a relatively small diameter. In a second type, the ‘large lipid cell’, the droplets grow to a much larger diameter, and show evidence of cycles of activity involving increase and disappearance of the phospholipid. Histochemical interpretations are made difficult by the finding that this phospholipid does not colour with Sudan black. The endothelial tissue is composed of phagocytic (macrophage) cells some of which are elongated and line vascular sinusoids while others are spherical and contain larger inclusions. These inclusions have some lipid characteristics and may be a manifestation of the translocation of lipid within the organ. The pigmented tissue is composed of melanophores and of a second, round, type of cell which shows evidence of relationship with the macrophage system. Both kinds of cell contain ‘melanin’; the second also has inclusions with different histochemical properties. The round-cell tissue, found in nodules, has a general resemblance to lymphoid tissue. It is doubtful whether its cells are lymphocytes, but it has not been found possible to characterize them in any other way. The steroid tissue is composed of cells which react positively to the histochemical tests comprised in the ‘steroid repertoire’, as used in the study of the mammalian adrenal. Attention is drawn to technical difficulties which may have confused the study of the peri-renal tissue as a haematopoietic organ. The connexion between the lipid tissue and circulating granulocytes has features which distinguish it from the processes of granulocyte formation in the spleen. There are strong indications of an evolutionary connexion between peri-renal tissue and the cortex of the adrenal gland of higher animals. The lungfish may offer the best starting-point for the study of the comparative histology of the adrenal of tetrapods. The association between lipid, steroid, haematopoietic, macrophage, and pigment tissue has parallels in function in the complex interrelations of the mammalian adrenal.

scholarly journals Hex Hox: De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Embryonic Hox Gene Expression in the Burrowing Mayfly Hexagenia Limbata (Ephemeridae)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J Gonzalez ◽  
Tobias R Hildebrandt ◽  
Brigid C O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Hox Genes ◽  
Transcriptome Assembly ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Developmental Genetics ◽  
Early Instar ◽  
Hexagenia Limbata

Abstract Background: Hox genes are key regulators of appendage development in the insect body plan. The body plan of Mayfly (Ephemeroptera) nymphs differs due to the presence of evolutionarily significant abdominal appendages called gills. Despite mayflies’ basal phylogenetic position and novel morphology amongst insects, little is known of their developmental genetics. Here we present an annotated transcriptome for the mayfly Hexagenia limbata, with annotated sequences for putative Hox peptides and embryonic expression profiles for the Hox genes Antp and Ubx/abd-A. Results: Transcriptomic sequencing of early instar H. limbata nymphs yielded a high-quality assembly of 83,795 contigs, of which 22,975 were annotated against Folsomia candida, Nilaparvata lugens, Zootermopsis nevadensis and UniRef90 protein databases. Peptide annotations included eight of the ten canonical Hox genes (lab, pb, Dfd, Scr, Antp, Ubx, abd-A and Abd-B), most of which contained all functional domains and motifs conserved in insects. Expression patterns of Antp and Ubx/abd-A in H. limbata were visualized from early to late embryogenesis, and are also highly conserved with patterns reported for other non-holometabolous insects.Conclusions: We present evidence that both H. limbata Hox peptide sequences and embryonic expression patterns for Antp and Ubx/abd-A are extensively conserved with other insects. These findings suggest mayfly Antp and Ubx/abd-A play similar appendage promoting and repressing roles in the thorax and abdomen, respectively. The identified expression of Ubx and abd-A in early instar nymphs further suggests that mayfly gill development is not subject to Ubx or abd-A repression. Previous studies have shown that insect Ubx and abd-A repress appendages by inhibiting their distal structures, which can permit the development of proximal appendage types. In line with past morphology-based work, we propose that mayfly gills are proximal appendage structures, possibly homologous to the proximal appendage structures of crustaceans.

scholarly journals Intracellular Communication among Morphogen Signaling Pathways during Vertebrate Body Plan Formation

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Kimiko Takebayashi-Suzuki ◽  
Atsushi Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Axis Formation

During embryonic development in vertebrates, morphogens play an important role in cell fate determination and morphogenesis. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) belonging to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family control the dorsal–ventral (DV) patterning of embryos, whereas other morphogens such as fibroblast growth factor (FGF), Wnt family members, and retinoic acid (RA) regulate the formation of the anterior–posterior (AP) axis. Activation of morphogen signaling results in changes in the expression of target genes including transcription factors that direct cell fate along the body axes. To ensure the correct establishment of the body plan, the processes of DV and AP axis formation must be linked and coordinately regulated by a fine-tuning of morphogen signaling. In this review, we focus on the interplay of various intracellular regulatory mechanisms and discuss how communication among morphogen signaling pathways modulates body axis formation in vertebrate embryos.

scholarly journals Halszkaraptor escuilliei and the evolution of the paravian bauplan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chase D. Brownstein
Keyword(s):  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Early Evolution ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Sister Clade ◽  
Environmental Setting ◽  
Evolution Of Birds

Abstract The evolution of birds from dinosaurs is a subject that has received great attention among vertebrate paleontologists. Nevertheless, the early evolution of the paravians, the group that contains birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives, remains very poorly known. Even the most basal members of one paravian lineage, the Dromaeosauridae, already show a body plan that differs substantially from their closest non-paravian relatives. Recently, the dromaeosaurid Halszkaraptor escuilliei was described from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Halszkaraptor possesses numerous unserrated premaxillary teeth, a platyrostral rostrum with a developed neurovascular system, an elongate neck, bizarrely-proportioned forearms, and a foreword-shifted center of mass, differing markedly from other paravians. A reevaluation of the anatomy, taphonomy, environmental setting, and phylogenetic position of H. escuilliei based on additional comparisons with other maniraptorans suggests that, rather than indicating it was a semiaquatic piscivore, the body plan of this dinosaur bears features widely distributed among maniraptorans and in some cases intermediate between the conditions in dromaeosaurids and related clades. I find no evidence for a semiaquatic lifestyle in Halszkaraptor. A phylogenetic reevaluation of Halszkaraptorinae places it as the sister clade to Unenlagiinae, indicating the bizarre features of unenlagiines previously interpreted as evidence of piscivory may also represent a mosaic of plesiomorphic, derived, and intermediate features. The anatomy of Halszkaraptor reveals that dromaeosaurids still possessed many features found in more basal maniraptoran and coelurosaur clades, including some that may have been tied to herbivory. Rather than being a semiaquatic piscavore, Halszkaraptor was a basal dromaeosaurid showing transitional features.

Development, life cycle, ultrastructure and phylogenetic position of Pasteuria ramosa Metchnikoff 1888: rediscovery of an obligate endoparasite of Daphnia magna Straus

1996 ◽  
Vol 351 (1348) ◽  
pp. 1689-1701 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Daphnia Magna ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Maximum Parsimony Analysis ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Artificial Culture ◽  
Pasteuria Ramosa ◽  
Development Life Cycle

The development, life cycle, ultrastructure and phylogenetic position of an obligate, spore-forming endoparasite of Daphnia magna Straus is described. The microparasite was found in the body cavity of three Daphnia species (D. magna , D. pulex and D. longispa )collected in England and Russia during 1992-1994 and maintained in artificial culture by co-cultivation with D. magna . Transmission of the endoparasite occurred horizontally through waterborne spores released from the remains of dead infected hosts. Progeny of infected hosts were never infected, indicating that vertical transmission does not occur. Egg production by infected mothers ceased soon after infection and death ensued after 46 days ( ± 7 standard error) at 20 °C. Phase contrast light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy of the infection process showed the endoparasite to have a polymorphic life cycle beginning with the appearance of branched ‘cauliflower-like’ rosettes and ended with the development of single, oval endospores, nippled at one end and with complex internal structure. Endospore formation resembled that found in endosporeforming bacteria. Morphologically the parasite has strong resemblance to the Pasteuria ramosa that Metchnikoff isolated from D. magna and D. pulex in Ukraine and described in 1888. Identification of this parasite has been an enduring puzzle since Metchnikoff. The previously confused phylogenetic position of P. ramosa (it has been classified as bacterium, yeast and protozoa) was resolved by sequencing the 16SrDNA molecule. Fluorescent in situ hybridizations confirmed that the 16S rDNA sequence obtained from the spores within the D. magna body cavity originated from the endoparasite. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analysis showed that P. ramosa belongs to the low G + C Gram positive branch of the eubacteria and resides within a clade containing Bacillus tusciae , Alicyclobacillus cycloheptanicus and A. acidocaldarius as its nearest neighbours. These results confirm suggestions that this parasite is a bacterium and refute its previous tentative placement based on its morphological complexity among the Actinomycetales.

scholarly journals Petiole-Lamina Transition Zone: A Functionally Crucial but Often Overlooked Leaf Trait

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 774
Author(s):  
Max Langer ◽  
Thomas Speck ◽  
Olga Speck
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
Vascular Bundles ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
The Cross

Although both the petiole and lamina of foliage leaves have been thoroughly studied, the transition zone between them has often been overlooked. We aimed to identify objectively measurable morphological and anatomical criteria for a generally valid definition of the petiole–lamina transition zone by comparing foliage leaves with various body plans (monocotyledons vs. dicotyledons) and spatial arrangements of petiole and lamina (two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional configurations). Cross-sectional geometry and tissue arrangement of petioles and transition zones were investigated via serial thin-sections and µCT. The changes in the cross-sectional geometries from the petiole to the transition zone and the course of the vascular bundles in the transition zone apparently depend on the spatial arrangement, while the arrangement of the vascular bundles in the petioles depends on the body plan. We found an exponential acropetal increase in the cross-sectional area and axial and polar second moments of area to be the defining characteristic of all transition zones studied, regardless of body plan or spatial arrangement. In conclusion, a variety of terms is used in the literature for describing the region between petiole and lamina. We prefer the term “petiole–lamina transition zone” to underline its three-dimensional nature and the integration of multiple gradients of geometry, shape, and size.

scholarly journals Potential host ranges of three Asian larval parasitoids of Drosophila suzukii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent M. Daane ◽  
Xingeng Wang ◽  
Brian N. Hogg ◽  
Antonio Biondi
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Egg Load ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Female Body Size

AbstractAsobara japonica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Ganaspis brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) are Asian larval parasitoids of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). This study evaluated these parasitoids’ capacity to attack and develop from 24 non-target drosophilid species. Results showed that all three parasitoids were able to parasitize host larvae of multiple non-target species in artificial diet; A. japonica developed from 19 tested host species, regardless of the phylogenetic position of the host species, L. japonica developed from 11 tested species; and G. brasiliensis developed from only four of the exposed species. Success rate of parasitism (i.e., the probability that an adult wasp successfully emerged from a parasitized host) by the two figitid parasitoids was low in hosts other than the three species in the melanogaster group (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. suzukii). The failure of the figitids to develop in most of the tested host species appears to correspond with more frequent encapsulation of the parasitoids by the hosts. The results indicate that G. brasiliensis is the most host specific to D. suzukii, L. japonica attacks mainly species in the melanogaster group and A. japonica is a generalist, at least physiologically. Overall, the developmental time of the parasitoids increased with the host’s developmental time. The body size of female A. japonica (as a model species) was positively related to host size, and mature egg load of female wasps increased with female body size. We discuss the use of these parasitoids for classical biological control of D. suzukii.

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