Article
Ecology
Peng Li, John J. Wiens
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive comparison of the types of traits that can drive diversification in lizard and snake families. It shows that the rate of range expansion is the most important variable for explaining diversification rates and richness patterns in squamates.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
P. R. Villamayor, D. Robledo, C. Fernandez, J. Gullon, L. Quintela, P. Sanchez-Quinteiro, P. Martinez
Summary: The RNA sequencing study of rabbit VNO reveals a diverse expression of vomeronasal receptor families and other gene families relevant to VNO function. Sex hormone-related pathways are consistently enriched in the VNO, emphasizing its importance in reproduction. Furthermore, significant transcriptome differences are observed between sexes, but not between age groups.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sarah K. J. Cross, Yellow H. Martin, Stephanie Salia, Iain Gamba, Christina A. Major, Suhail Hassan, Katelyn A. Parsons, Ashlyn Swift-Gallant
Summary: The study found that surgical ablation of the VNO in mice during the peripubertal period decreased sexual odor preferences and neural activity in response to opposite-sex odors, and drastically reduced territorial aggression in male mice. Conversely, adult VNO ablation resulted in subtle differences in sexual odor preferences compared with sham controls. Regardless of the VNO condition, mice displayed sex-typical copulatory behaviors. These findings suggest that puberty is a critical period during which the VNO contributes to the sexual differentiation of behavior and neural response to conspecific odors.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Petra Frdlova, Veronika Janovska, Jana Mrzilkova, Milada Halaskova, Marketa Riegerova, Jan Dudak, Veronika Tymlova, Jan Zemlicka, Petr Zach, Daniel Frynta
Summary: This study discovered dermal armour in sand boas, which is the first description of such feature in snakes. Ancestral state reconstructions suggest that osteoderms likely evolved once or multiple times in the Erycidae family. Similar structures can be found in unrelated squamate clades, supporting the idea of deep developmental homology. The researchers propose that osteoderms protect sand boas like the brigandine armor of medieval warriors.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Shoko Nakamuta, Yoshio Yamamoto, Masao Miyazaki, Atsuhiro Sakuma, Masato Nikaido, Nobuaki Nakamuta
Summary: Lungfish have two distinct sensory epithelia in their olfactory organs, corresponding to the lamellar olfactory epithelium and primitive vomeronasal organ (VNO) found in teleosts and tetrapods, respectively. The expression of V1Rs, a type of olfactory receptor, in lungfish suggests an intermediate step in the segregation of V1R expression between the olfactory epithelium and VNO, reflecting the evolutionary position of lungfish between teleosts and amphibians.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Shoko Nakamuta, Yoshio Yamamoto, Masao Miyazaki, Atsuhiro Sakuma, Masato Nikaido, Nobuaki Nakamuta
Summary: Lungfish have a unique olfactory organ that consists of lamellar olfactory epithelium (OE) and recess epithelium, which correspond to the OE of fish and the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of tetrapods. The number and distribution range of recesses in the olfactory organ increase with body size. V1R-expressing cells are mainly found in the lamellar OE but also in the recess epithelium of lungfish, and the density of these cells is higher in juveniles compared to adults.
ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
William G. Ryerson, Kurt Schwenk
Summary: This study examines the mechanics of sensory behavior in northern water snakes as they transition from terrestrial to aquatic habitats. The research shows that snakes alter their tongue-flicking behavior based on the environment they are in, and this adaptation allows them to maximize their chances of encountering and collecting prey.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Catherine R. C. Strong, Mark D. Scherz, Michael W. Caldwell
Summary: This study investigates the interplay between 'microstomy' (small-gaped feeding), fossoriality, and miniaturization in scolecophidians by using anatomical network analysis. The results reveal distinctive patterns of jaw connectivity across purported 'microstomatans' and demonstrate that fossoriality and miniaturization impose further evolutionary constraint on skull architecture. These findings challenge the traditional views of scolecophidians as fundamentally plesiomorphic and morphologically homogeneous, providing important insights into the macroevolutionary trends among squamates.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
R. Alexander Pyron, Vivek P. Cyriac, S. R. Ganesh, Ashok K. Mallik, Anslem de Silva, Achyuthan N. Srikanthan, Kartik Shanker
Summary: Hemipenial characteristics provide valuable morphological characters for systematic classification of snakes, but remain poorly known in many groups. This study reports on hemipenial morphology of 12 species from the family Uropeltidae, with some species photographed or illustrated for the first time. Gross hemipenial morphology can now aid in diagnosing uropeltids to the genus level or species group.
ICHTHYOLOGY AND HERPETOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Jody Michael Barends, Bryan Maritz
Summary: Speciation through niche divergence occurs when organisms adapt to new environments and evolve different ecological phenotypes. In snakes, adaptive diversification is driven by changes in diet, and habitat differences contribute to the divergence and radiation of snakes worldwide.
ICHTHYOLOGY AND HERPETOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Madlaina Boillat, Alan Carleton, Ivan Rodriguez
Summary: Variations in gene expression patterns play a powerful role in evolutionary innovation. An evolutionary event led an immune pathogen sensor to transition into an olfactory chemoreceptor, shifting its function from sensing the internal world to exploring the external world.
CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Asier Ullate-Agote, Athanasia C. Tzika
Summary: Albinism and leucism are phenotypes caused by impaired melanin pigmentation, resulting in abnormal skin colors; in the leucistic morph of the Texas rat snake, the absence of melanophores and xanthophores leads to a uniform ivory white appearance generated by iridophores and collagen fibers. Genomic sequencing and candidate-gene analysis revealed a single-nucleotide deletion in the MITF gene associated with the leucistic phenotype, suggesting a role of MITF in regulating neural-crest derived melanophores and xanthophores fate determination during snake embryonic development.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anamarija Fofonjka, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: The adult ocellated lizard skin color pattern is effectively generated by a stochastic cellular automaton (CA) of skin scales. Computational simulations demonstrate that skin thickness variation alone is sufficient to cause scale-by-scale coloration and CA dynamics during reaction-diffusion patterning. In addition, it is shown that this phenomenon is robust to variations in reaction-diffusion models.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Geoffrey Gaulier, Quentin Dietschi, Swarnendu Bhattacharyya, Cedric Schmidt, Matteo Montagnese, Adrien Chauvet, Sylvain Hermelin, Florence Chiodini, Luigi Bonacina, Pedro L. Herrera, Ursula Rothlisberger, Ivan Rodriguez, Jean-Pierre Wolf
Summary: Experiments have shown that the initial step of vision involves ultra-fast photoisomerization controlled by shaping the phase of femtosecond laser pulses. The electric signals fired from the retina of living mice in response to light stimulation on a femtosecond time scale were found to be sensitive to manipulation of light excitation. This sensitivity is attributed to interactions with light pulses near conical intersections, involving processes like pump-dump and pump-repump.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Szabolcs Zakany, Stanislav Smirnov, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: The skin color pattern of the ocellated lizard can be modeled using a stochastic cellular automaton, and the late-time probability distribution corresponds to the canonical distribution of the antiferromagnetic Ising model. Additionally, skin scale patterns similar to the lizard's can be generated by the Ising model on a triangular lattice in the low-temperature limit.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luis Flores Horgue, Alexis Assens, Leon Fodoulian, Leonardo Marconi, Joel Tuberosa, Alexander Haider, Madlaina Boillat, Alan Carleton, Ivan Rodriguez
Summary: This study reveals that the diversity of olfactory neurons in mice is influenced by both the chemoreceptor expressed by each neuron and the experience of that neuron. The transcriptomic profiles of mouse olfactory sensory neurons are already divergent at rest, specific to the olfactory receptor they express, and can further evolve in response to environmental stimuli. These findings contribute to our understanding of the complexity and adaptability of sensory coding.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Leon van Gurp, Leon Fodoulian, Daniel Oropeza, Kenichiro Furuyama, Eva Bru-Tari, Anh Nguyet Vu, John S. Kaddis, Ivan Rodriguez, Fabrizio Thorel, Pedro L. Herrera
Summary: The authors used single-cell transcriptomics meta-analysis to construct gene sets that accurately describe the identity of various human islet cells. These gene sets have proven effective in analyzing cell identity changes and their underlying genetic mechanisms, providing reliable tools for cell therapy and diabetes treatment.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Mathematics
Nicolas A. Barnafi, Luis Miguel De Oliveira Vilaca, Michel C. Milinkovitch, Ricardo Ruiz-Baier
Summary: In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed to describe the complex interaction between skin cell populations, fibroblast growth factors, and bone morphogenetic proteins occurring in deformable porous media during feather primordia patterning. The model considers tissue growth and the transport of morphogens through various mechanisms such as mechanical stress and mass supply. The study utilizes linear stability analysis to determine the conditions under which the system produces spatially heterogeneous solutions. Additionally, the mechanical model is extended to include anisotropic solid growth and feedback. Numerical methods are employed to solve the coupled system of nonlinear partial differential equations. Computational examples are presented to demonstrate the spatio-temporal patterns and solid response scenarios. The results show qualitative agreement with experimental observations and provide insights into the biomechanical properties of primordia patterning.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ebrahim Jahanbakhsh, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: Skin color patterning in vertebrates is influenced by microscopic cell-cell interactions. Research on lizards shows that the deterministic reaction-diffusion (RD) model is able to accurately predict individual patterns without the need for extensive parameterization. Uncertainties in color measurements and skin geometry variation explain the unpredictability of adult patterns.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Quentin Dietschi, Joel Tuberosa, Leon Fodoulian, Madlaina Boillat, Chenda Kan, Julien Codourey, Veronique Pauli, Paul Feinstein, Alan Carleton, Ivan Rodriguez
Summary: This study reveals that V1r pseudogenes are widely scattered in mammalian genomes while functional V1r and Fpr genes are organized in clusters, with pseudogenes more likely to be expressed when located in a cluster. Transgenic experiments dissociating Fpr-rs3 from its cluster show transient, specific transcription in young vomeronasal neurons, indicating the presence of transcription-stabilizing elements associated with vomeronasal gene clusters.
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luis Flores Horgue, Alexis Assens, Leon Fodoulian, Leonardo Marconi, Joel Tuberosa, Alexander Haider, Madlaina Boillat, Alan Carleton, Ivan Rodriguez
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rory L. Cooper, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: The development of vertebrate skin appendages is controlled by conserved molecular signaling, which forms a dynamic reaction-diffusion-like system. In this study, it is demonstrated that transient activation of the sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway in chicken embryos triggers a complete and permanent transition from reticulate scales to feathers on the ventral surfaces of the foot. The resulting ectopic feathers are developmentally comparable to body feathers, indicating that variations in Shh pathway signaling contribute to the diversity and regionalization of avian integumentary appendages.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Athanasia C. Tzika, Asier Ullate-Agote, Szabolcs Zakany, Maya Kummrow, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: In this study, the researchers characterized the morphological, genetic, and functional aspects of scale development in wild-type and scaleless snakes using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene disruption. They found that the hexagonal pattern of snake scales is established through interactions between reaction-diffusion (RD) in the skin and somitic positional information. The alignment of ribs and scales, which are both important for snake locomotion, is ensured by the evolution of the RD intrinsic length scale to match somite periodicity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Grigorii Timin, Michel C. Milinkovitch
Summary: Imaging collagen network architecture is crucial for understanding tissue mechanical properties in developmental and cancer biology. This study presents a simple and robust method using 'Fast Green' dye for whole-mount collagen staining, enabling exceptional visualization of collagen 3D network via confocal or light-sheet microscopy, compatible with solvent-based tissue clearing and immunostaining.
Review
Cell Biology
Michel C. Milinkovitch, Ebrahim Jahanbakhsh, Szabolcs Zakany
Summary: In 1952, Alan Turing laid the foundations of morphogenesis with the reaction-diffusion mathematical framework, which is unfortunately doubted in the field of developmental biology. This article first summarizes Turing's thoughts to clarify that RD is not an artificial mathematical construct. Then, it discusses the effectiveness of phenomenological RD models in understanding skin color patterning at the meso/macroscopic scales without the need for parameterizing numerous variables at lower scales. Finally, the utility of linear stability analysis and numerical simulations are explored to demonstrate the emergence of deterministic RD from chaotic microscopic agents.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)