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Walking Legs (walking + leg)
Selected AbstractsA new class of neurotoxin from wasp venom slows inactivation of sodium currentEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 6 2000Yoshinori Sahara Abstract The effects of ,-pompilidotoxin (,-PMTX), a new neurotoxin isolated from the venom of a solitary wasp, were studied on the neuromuscular synapses in lobster walking leg and the rat trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons. Paired intracellular recordings from the presynaptic axon terminals and the innervating lobster leg muscles revealed that ,-PMTX induced long bursts of action potentials in the presynaptic axon, which resulted in facilitated excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. The action of ,-PMTX was distinct from that of other known facilitatory presynaptic toxins, including sea anemone toxins and ,-scorpion toxins, which modify the fast inactivation of Na+ current. We further characterized the action of ,-PMTX on Na+ channels by whole-cell recordings from rat trigeminal neurons. We found that ,-PMTX slowed the Na+ channels inactivation process without changing the peak current,voltage relationship or the activation time course of tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive Na+ currents, and that ,-PMTX had voltage-dependent effects on the rate of recovery from Na+ current inactivation and deactivating tail currents. The results suggest that ,-PMTX slows or blocks conformational changes required for fast inactivation of the Na+ channels on the extracellular surface. The simple structure of ,-PMTX, consisting of 13 amino acids, would be advantageous for understanding the functional architecture of Na+ channel protein. [source] Antisymmetry in male fiddler crabs and the decision to feed or breedFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2002A. E. Pratt Summary 1,In male Sand Fiddler Crabs, Uca pugilator, a major cheliped (with claw), used in intersexual displays and intrasexual contests, develops opposite a minor cheliped used for feeding. Cheliped size demonstrates antisymmetry because greater development is equally likely on the right or left side. 2,The side with the major cheliped (major side) also has longer walking legs which may facilitate use of the claw. In contrast, eye stalk asymmetry is equally due to antisymmetry and fluctuating asymmetry. Fluctuating asymmetry is a subtle, non-adaptive departure from the population-level trajectory relating growth on major and minor sides. 3,In a South Carolina (USA) marsh, cheliped and leg antisymmetries are greater and eye stalk asymmetry is less among males able to defer feeding in favour of breeding. However, the composition of up-slope breeding and down-slope feeding subpopulations changes across the lunar cycle. 4,The number of mates sequestered in breeding burrows is positively correlated with cheliped and leg antisymmetry and negatively correlated with eye stalk asymmetry. Male fitness is a function of the product of time spent breeding and the number of mates per unit time while breeding. Both fitness components are predicted by relative cheliped antisymmetry and eye stalk fluctuating asymmetry, which are themselves significantly negatively correlated. [source] Comparative morphology of the hemolymph vascular system in scorpions,A survey using corrosion casting, MicroCT, and 3D-reconstructionJOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 5 2007Christian S. Wirkner Abstract Although scorpions are one of the better known groups of Arthropoda, detailed knowledge of their anatomy remains superficial. This contribution presents the first comprehensive investigation of the gross morphology of the scorpion vascular system, based on a survey of species representing all major lineages of the order, using classical and modern non-destructive techniques in combination with three-dimensional reconstruction. The investigation reveals that the hemolymph vascular system (HVS) of Scorpiones comprises a central pumping heart which extends the entire length of the mesosoma and is enclosed in a pericardium. Several arteries branch off the heart to supply different organs and body regions. Two different anterior aorta major branching patterns are identified among the species investigated. Arteries that branch off the anterior aorta system supply the appendages (chelicerae, pedipalps, and walking legs) and the central nerve mass with a complex arterial network. This study of the HVS of scorpions provides further evidence that the vascular systems of euarthropods can be highly complex. Use of the term "open circulatory system" within arthropods is re-emphasized, as it refers to the general organization of the body cavity (i.e. mixocoely) rather than to the complexity of the circulatory system. J. Morphol., 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Peripheral synapses and giant neurons in whip spidersMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 4 2002Rainer Foelix Among invertebrates the synapses between neurons are generally restricted to ganglia, i.e., to the central nervous system (CNS). As an exception, synapses occur in the sensory nerves of arachnid legs, indicating that some nervous integration is already taking place far out in the periphery. In the antenniform legs of whip spiders (Amblypygi), a very special synaptic circuit is present. These highly modified legs contain several large interneurons (giant neurons) that receive mechanosensory input from 700,1,500 tarsal bristles. Some of the sensory cell axons contact a giant neuron at its short, branched dendrite, a few at the soma, but most synapse onto the long giant axon. The fine structure of these synapses resembles that of typical chemical synapses in other arthropods. Although thousands of sensory fibers converge on a single giant neuron, there is no reduction in the actual number of sensory fibers, because these afferent fibers continue their course to the CNS after having made several en passant synapses onto the giant neuron. Touching a single tarsal bristle is sufficient to elicit action potentials in a giant neuron. Owing to the large diameter of the giant axon (10,20 ,m), the action potentials reach the CNS within 55 ms, at conduction velocities of up to 7 m/s. However, mechanical stimulation of the tarsal bristles does not elicit a fast escape response, in contrast to giant fiber systems in earthworms, certain insects, and crayfishes. A quick escape is observed in whip spiders, but only after stimulation of the filiform hairs (trichobothria) on the regular walking legs. Although the giant fiber system in the antenniform legs undoubtedly provides a fast sensory pathway, its biological significance is not clearly understood at the moment. Microsc. Res. Tech. 58:272,282, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||