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Integrative and Comparative Biology Sep 2021Ascidians are invertebrate chordates, with swimming chordate tadpole larvae that have distinct heads and tails. The head contains the small brain, sensory organs,... (Review)
Review
Ascidians are invertebrate chordates, with swimming chordate tadpole larvae that have distinct heads and tails. The head contains the small brain, sensory organs, including the ocellus (light) and otolith (gravity) and the presumptive endoderm, while the tail has a notochord surrounded by muscle cells and a dorsal nerve cord. One of the chordate features is a post-anal tail. Ascidian tadpoles are nonfeeding, and their tails are critical for larval locomotion. After hatching the larvae swim up toward light and are carried by the tide and ocean currents. When competent to settle, ascidian tadpole larvae swim down, away from light, to settle and metamorphose into a sessile adult. Tunicates are classified as chordates because of their chordate tadpole larvae; in contrast, the sessile adult has a U-shaped gut and very derived body plan, looking nothing like a chordate. There is one group of ascidians, the Molgulidae, where many species are known to have tailless larvae. The Swalla Lab has been studying the evolution of tailless ascidian larvae in this clade for over 30 years and has shown that tailless larvae have evolved independently several times in this clade. Comparison of the genomes of two closely related species, the tailed Molgula oculata and tailless Molgula occulta reveals much synteny, but there have been multiple insertions and deletions that have disrupted larval genes in the tailless species. Genomics and transcriptomics have previously shown that there are pseudogenes expressed in the tailless embryos, suggesting that the partial rescue of tailed features in their hybrid larvae is due to the expression of intact genes from the tailed parent. Yet surprisingly, we find that the notochord gene regulatory network is mostly intact in the tailless M. occulta, although the notochord does not converge and extend and remains as an aggregate of cells we call the "notoball." We expect that eventually many of the larval gene networks will become evolutionarily lost in tailless ascidians and the larval body plan abandoned, with eggs developing directly into an adult. Here we review the current evolutionary and developmental evidence on how the molgulids lost their tails.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Larva; Notochord; Tail; Urochordata
PubMed: 33881514
DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab022 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Oct 2019Many animals depend on microbial symbionts to provide nutrition, defence or other services. Holometabolous insects, as well as other animals that undergo metamorphosis,... (Review)
Review
Many animals depend on microbial symbionts to provide nutrition, defence or other services. Holometabolous insects, as well as other animals that undergo metamorphosis, face unique constraints on symbiont maintenance. Microbes present in larvae encounter a radical transformation of their habitat and may also need to withstand chemical and immunological challenges. Metamorphosis also provides an opportunity, in that symbiotic associations can be decoupled over development. For example, some holometabolous insects maintain the same symbiont as larvae and adults, but house it in different tissues; in other species, larvae and adults may harbour entirely different types or numbers of microbes, in accordance with shifts in host diet or habitat. Such flexibility may provide an advantage over hemimetabolous insects, in which selection on adult-stage microbial associations may be constrained by its negative effects on immature stages, and vice versa. Additionally, metamorphosis itself can be directly influenced by symbionts. Across disparate insect taxa, microbes protect hosts from pathogen infection, supply nutrients essential for rebuilding the adult body and provide cues regulating pupation. However, microbial associations remain completely unstudied for many families and even orders of Holometabola, and future research will undoubtedly reveal more links between metamorphosis and microbiota, two widespread features of animal life. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of complete metamorphosis'.
Topics: Animals; Insecta; Larva; Metamorphosis, Biological; Microbiota; Symbiosis
PubMed: 31438811
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0068 -
The International Journal of... 2014Nemerteans, a phylum of marine lophotrochozoan worms, have a biphasic life history with benthic adults and planktonic larvae. Nemertean larval development is... (Review)
Review
Nemerteans, a phylum of marine lophotrochozoan worms, have a biphasic life history with benthic adults and planktonic larvae. Nemertean larval development is traditionally categorized into direct and indirect. Indirect development via a long-lived planktotrophic pilidium larva is thought to have evolved in one clade of nemerteans, the Pilidiophora, from an ancestor with a uniformly ciliated planuliform larva. Planuliform larvae in a member of a basal nemertean group, the Palaeonemertea, have been previously shown to possess a vestigial prototroch, homologous to the primary larval ciliated band in the trochophores of other spiralian phyla, such as annelids and mollusks. We review literature on nemertean larval development, and include our own unpublished observations. We highlight recent discoveries of numerous pilidiophoran species with lecithotrophic larvae. Some of these larvae superficially resemble uniformly ciliated planuliform larvae of other nemerteans. Others possess one or two transverse ciliary bands, which superficially resemble the prototroch and telotroch of some spiralian trochophores. We also summarize accumulating evidence for planktotrophic feeding by larvae of the order Hoplonemertea, which until now were considered to be lecithotrophic. We suggest that 1) non-feeding pilidiophoran larval forms are derived from a feeding pilidium; 2) such forms have likely evolved many times independently within the Pilidiophora; 3) any resemblance of such larvae to the trochophores of other spiralians is a result of convergence and that 4) the possibility of planktotrophy in hoplonemertean larvae may influence estimates of pelagic larval duration, dispersal, and population connectivity in this group.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Eating; Invertebrates; Larva
PubMed: 25690972
DOI: 10.1387/ijdb.140090sm -
Biomolecules Jun 2020Due to the sustainable organic matter bioconversion process used as substrate for its development, the (Linnaeus) larvae biomass is considered a source of compounds... (Review)
Review
Due to the sustainable organic matter bioconversion process used as substrate for its development, the (Linnaeus) larvae biomass is considered a source of compounds with high aggregate value and quite a promising market. The materials that can be extracted from larvae have opened the door to a diverse new field of ingredients, mainly for the feed and food industry, but also with potential applicability in cosmetics. In this review we succinctly describe the larval development and rearing cycle, the main compounds identified from different types of extractions, their bioactivities and focus on possible applications in cosmetic products. A search was made in the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science with the terms '', 'bioactives', 'biochemical composition' and 'cosmetics ingredients', which included 71 articles published since 1994.
Topics: Animals; Biological Factors; Biomass; Cosmetics; Diptera; Larva; Life Cycle Stages
PubMed: 32610700
DOI: 10.3390/biom10070976 -
The ISME Journal Mar 2018Since the discovery of Chromera velia as a novel coral-associated microalga, this organism has attracted interest because of its unique evolutionary position between the...
Since the discovery of Chromera velia as a novel coral-associated microalga, this organism has attracted interest because of its unique evolutionary position between the photosynthetic dinoflagellates and the parasitic apicomplexans. The nature of the relationship between Chromera and its coral host is controversial. Is it a mutualism, from which both participants benefit, a parasitic relationship, or a chance association? To better understand the interaction, larvae of the common Indo-Pacific reef-building coral Acropora digitifera were experimentally infected with Chromera, and the impact on the host transcriptome was assessed at 4, 12, and 48 h post-infection using Illumina RNA-Seq technology. The transcriptomic response of the coral to Chromera was complex and implies that host immunity is strongly suppressed, and both phagosome maturation and the apoptotic machinery is modified. These responses differ markedly from those described for infection with a competent strain of the coral mutualist Symbiodinium, instead resembling those of vertebrate hosts to parasites and/or pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Consistent with ecological studies suggesting that the association may be accidental, the transcriptional response of A. digitifera larvae leads us to conclude that Chromera could be a coral parasite, commensal, or accidental bystander, but certainly not a beneficial mutualist.
Topics: Alveolata; Animals; Anthozoa; Biological Evolution; Coral Reefs; Larva; Photosynthesis; Symbiosis; Transcriptome
PubMed: 29321691
DOI: 10.1038/s41396-017-0005-9 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2016In populations of Drosophila larvae, both, an aggregation and a dispersal behavior can be observed. However, the mechanisms coordinating larval locomotion in respect to...
In populations of Drosophila larvae, both, an aggregation and a dispersal behavior can be observed. However, the mechanisms coordinating larval locomotion in respect to other animals, especially in close proximity and during/after physical contacts are currently only little understood. Here we test whether relevant information is perceived before or during larva-larva contacts, analyze its influence on behavior and ask whether larvae avoid or pursue collisions. Employing frustrated total internal reflection-based imaging (FIM) we first found that larvae visually detect other moving larvae in a narrow perceptive field and respond with characteristic escape reactions. To decipher larval locomotion not only before but also during the collision we utilized a two color FIM approach (FIM(2c)), which allowed to faithfully extract the posture and motion of colliding animals. We show that during collision, larval locomotion freezes and sensory information is sampled during a KISS phase (german: Kollisions Induziertes Stopp Syndrom or english: collision induced stop syndrome). Interestingly, larvae react differently to living, dead or artificial larvae, discriminate other Drosophila species and have an increased bending probability for a short period after the collision terminates. Thus, Drosophila larvae evolved means to specify behaviors in response to other larvae.
Topics: Animal Communication; Animals; Drosophila; Larva; Locomotion
PubMed: 27511760
DOI: 10.1038/srep31564 -
MSphere Oct 2021Mosquito larvae encounter diverse assemblages of bacteria (i.e., "microbiota") and fungi in the aquatic environments that they develop in. However, while a number of...
Mosquito larvae encounter diverse assemblages of bacteria (i.e., "microbiota") and fungi in the aquatic environments that they develop in. However, while a number of studies have addressed the diversity and function of microbiota in mosquito life history, relatively little is known about mosquito-fungus interactions outside several key fungal entomopathogens. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) metabarcode markers to provide the first simultaneous characterization of the fungal communities in field-collected Aedes albopictus larvae and their associated aquatic environments. Our results reveal unprecedented variation in fungal communities among adjacent but discrete larval breeding habitats. Our results also reveal a distinct fungal community assembly in the mosquito gut versus other tissues, with gut-associated fungal communities being most similar to those present in the environment where larvae feed. Altogether, our results identify the environment as the dominant factor shaping the fungal community associated with mosquito larvae, with no evidence of environmental filtering by the gut. These results also identify mosquito feeding behavior and fungal mode of nutrition as potential drivers of tissue-specific fungal community assembly after environmental acquisition. The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is the dominant mosquito species in the United States and an important vector of arboviruses of major public health concern. One aspect of mosquito control to curb mosquito-borne diseases has been the use of biological control agents such as fungal entomopathogens. Recent studies also demonstrate the impact of mosquito-associated microbial communities on various mosquito traits, including vector competence. However, while much research attention has been dedicated to understanding the diversity and function of mosquito-associated bacterial communities, relatively little is known about mosquito-associated fungal communities. A better understanding of the factors that drive fungal community diversity and assembly in mosquitoes will be essential for future efforts to target mosquito-associated bacteria and fungi for mosquito and mosquito-borne disease control.
Topics: Aedes; Animals; Female; Fungi; Gastrointestinal Tract; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Larva; Mycobiome
PubMed: 34585960
DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00646-21 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023Control of ticks and tick-borne pathogens is a priority for human and animal health. Livestock-holders extensively rely on acaricide applications for tick control....
Control of ticks and tick-borne pathogens is a priority for human and animal health. Livestock-holders extensively rely on acaricide applications for tick control. Different groups of acaricides including cypermethrin and amitraz have been consistently used in Pakistan. There has been a gap in understanding the susceptibility or resistance of , the most prevalent tick in Pakistan, to acaricides. The present study aimed to molecularly characterize cypermethrin and amitraz targeted genes such as voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) and octopamine tyramine (OCT/Tyr) of ticks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan to monitor the acaricides resistance. Tick specimens were collected from cattle and buffaloes in northern (Chitral, Shangla, Swat, Dir, and Buner), central (Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, and Nowshera), and southern districts (Kohat, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan) of KP, Pakistan. Different concentrations of commercially available cypermethrin (10%) and amitraz (12.5%) were prepared for larval immersion tests (LIT). In LIT, the average mortality rate of immersed larvae was recorded that was increased gradually with an increase in the concentration of specific acaricide. The larvae's highest mortality rates (94.5% and 79.5%) were observed at 100-ppm of cypermethrin and amitraz, respectively. A subset of 82 ticks was subjected to extract genomic DNA, followed by PCR to amplify partial fragments of VGSC (domain-II) and OCT/Tyr genes. The BLAST results of the consensus sequence of VGSC gene (domain-II) showed 100% identity with the acaricides susceptible tick sequence from the United States (reference sequence). Obtained identical sequences of OCT/Tyr genes showed maximum identity (94-100%) with the identical sequences reported from Australia (reference sequence), India, Brazil, Philippines, USA, South Africa, and China. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (10 synonymous and three non-synonymous) were observed at various positions of partial OCT/Tyr gene fragments. The SNP at position A-22-C (T-8-P) in OCT/Tyr gene has been linked to amitraz resistance in ticks. Molecular analysis and LIT bioassay's findings indicate the availability of resistant ticks in the KP region. To our understanding, this is the first preliminary study to monitor cypermethrin and amitraz resistance via molecular profiling of cypermethrin and amitraz targeted genes (VGSC and OCT/Tyr) in combination with bioassays (LIT) in ticks from Pakistan.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Cattle; Octopamine; Tyramine; Rhipicephalus; Acaricides; Larva
PubMed: 37305408
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1176013 -
Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 2019The beautifully colored damselflies included in Neoneura Selys are divided in 28 species known from North, Central and South America. Larval stage is little known, only...
The beautifully colored damselflies included in Neoneura Selys are divided in 28 species known from North, Central and South America. Larval stage is little known, only seven species were described at this stage. We describe and illustrate the final instar larva of Neoneura confundens for the first time. Adults associated to this larva correspond to the blue form of the species and are also discussed and illustrated. The larva of N. confundens is similar to other Neoneura larvae, showing 1 premental seta and a well-marked nodus in caudal lamellae, but it can be differentiated by having fringed posterior margin in all tibiae and in middle and hind tarsi, among other characters. A key to known larvae of Neoneura and new records extending the species range in the southern cone are provided.
Topics: Animals; Body Size; Female; Larva; Male; Odonata; South America; Tibia
PubMed: 31664309
DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201920190302 -
Current Biology : CB Sep 2011Naturalists and scientists have been captivated by the diversity of marine larval forms since they were discovered following the advent of the microscope. Because they... (Review)
Review
Naturalists and scientists have been captivated by the diversity of marine larval forms since they were discovered following the advent of the microscope. Because they often bear little resemblance to adults, larvae were identified initially as new life forms, classified into different groups based on the similarity of their body plans and given new names that are still with us today. The radically different body plans and lifestyles of marine larvae and adults have led most investigators historically to study the two phases of complex life cycles in isolation. More recently, important ecological insights have sprung from taking a holistic view of marine life cycles. Meanwhile, the evolutionary (phenotypic and genetic) links among life-history phases remain less appreciated. In this review, our objective is to evaluate the evolutionary links within marine life cycles, and explore their ecological and evolutionary consequences. We provide a brief overview of marine life histories, discuss the phenotypic and genetic links between the two phases of the life cycle and pose challenges to advance our understanding of the evolutionary constraints acting on marine life histories.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Biological Evolution; Larva; Life Cycle Stages; Population Dynamics; Selection, Genetic
PubMed: 21959162
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.022