Adhesive pad differentiation in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> depends on the Polycomb group gene <i>Su(z)2</i>

Hüsken, Mirko; Hufnagel, Kim; Mende, Katharina; Appel, Esther; Meyer, Heiko; Peisker, Henrik; Tögel, Markus; Wang, Shuoshuo; Wolff, Jonas; Gorb, Stanislav N.; Paululat, Achim

doi:10.1242/jeb.125120

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…During climbing, in addition to frictional forces, insects rely on adhesive forces 42 43 generated by biomechanical specializations such as claws and pulvilli on their legs 21 44 45 . Frictional and adhesive forces differ in that they act in different directions—tangential and normal, respectively, to the contact surface—and therefore have different effects on the legs: friction reduces slipping, while adhesive forces act against lift-off of the legs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing favours the tripod gait over alternative faster insect gaits

et al. 2017

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To escape danger or catch prey, running vertebrates rely on dynamic gaits with minimal ground contact. By contrast, most insects use a tripod gait that maintains at least three legs on the ground at any given time. One prevailing hypothesis for this difference in fast locomotor strategies is that tripod locomotion allows insects to rapidly navigate three-dimensional terrain. To test this, we computationally discovered fast locomotor gaits for a model based on Drosophila melanogaster. Indeed, the tripod gait emerges to the exclusion of many other possible gaits when optimizing fast upward climbing with leg adhesion. By contrast, novel two-legged bipod gaits are fastest on flat terrain without adhesion in the model and in a hexapod robot. Intriguingly, when adhesive leg structures in real Drosophila are covered, animals exhibit atypical bipod-like leg coordination. We propose that the requirement to climb vertical terrain may drive the prevalence of the tripod gait over faster alternative gaits with minimal ground contact.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing favours the tripod gait over alternative faster insect gaits

et al. 2017

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“…An increase in setal density leads to a higher real contact area with the substrate and higher attachment strength, given that the spatulate tips of the setae have similar dimensions. The dimension and shape of the spatulas of the wild‐type D. melanogaster is approximately the same compared to B. coeca (mean width 1.97 μm according to Hüsken et al, 2015). In summary, various morphological adaptations of bee lice may suggest that its attachment to smooth surfaces is similarly important as to the bee hairs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The ventral face of the pulvilli is covered with setae known to be essential to generate adhesion on smooth surfaces due to capillary forces and van der Waals forces (Langer et al, 2004). Interestingly, each pulvillus has approximately 120–150 setae, while the closely related fruit fly D. melanogaster shows only about 30 setae per pulvillus (Hüsken et al, 2015). An increase in setal density leads to a higher real contact area with the substrate and higher attachment strength, given that the spatulate tips of the setae have similar dimensions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The exceptional attachment ability of the ectoparasitic bee louse Braula coeca (Diptera, Braulidae) on the honeybee

et al. 2021

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Bee lice (Braulidae) are small parasitic flies, which are adapted to live on their bee host. As such, the wingless Braula coeca is a parasite of the common honey bee Apis mellifera and it is well adapted to attach to its hairy surface. The attachment system of B. coeca provides a secure grip on the fine setae of the bee. This is crucial for the parasite survival, as detachment from the host is fatal for the bee louse. The feet morphology of B. coeca is well adapted to the challenging bee surface, notably by strongly broadened claws, which are split into a high number of comb‐like teeth, perfectly matching the diameter of the bee hairs. Based on microscopy observations, both the morphology and material composition of the tarsi of B. coeca are characterized in detail. Using high‐speed video analysis, we combine the morphology data on the attachment system with a behavioural context. Furthermore, we directly measured the attachment forces generated by the bee lice in contact with the host. In particular, the claws are involved in attachment to the host, as the interstices between the teeth‐like spines allow for the collection of several hairs and generate strong friction, when the hairs slip to the narrow gap between the spines. The overall morphology of the tarsus produces strong attachment, with average safety factors (force per body weight) around 1130, and stabilizes the tarsal chain with lateral stoppers against overflexion, but also allows for the fast detachment by the tarsal chain torsion.

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