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Phenotypic flexibility of gape anatomy fine-tunes the aquatic prey-capture system of newts.

ABSTRACT: A unique example of phenotypic flexibility of the oral apparatus is present in newts (Salamandridae) that seasonally change between an aquatic and a terrestrial habitat. Newts grow flaps of skin between their upper and lower jaws, the labial lobes, to partly close the corners of the mouth when they adopt an aquatic lifestyle during their breeding season. Using hydrodynamic simulations based on ?CT-scans and cranial kinematics during prey-capture in the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), we showed that this phenotypic flexibility is an adaptive solution to improve aquatic feeding performance: both suction distance and suction force increase by approximately 15% due to the labial lobes. As the subsequent freeing of the corners of the mouth by resorption of the labial lobes is assumed beneficial for the terrestrial capture of prey by the tongue, this flexibility of the mouth fine-tunes the process of capturing prey throughout the seasonal switching between water and land.

SUBMITTER: Van Wassenbergh S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4935879 | biostudies-other | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Phenotypic flexibility of gape anatomy fine-tunes the aquatic prey-capture system of newts.

Van Wassenbergh Sam S Heiss Egon E

Scientific reports 20160707

A unique example of phenotypic flexibility of the oral apparatus is present in newts (Salamandridae) that seasonally change between an aquatic and a terrestrial habitat. Newts grow flaps of skin between their upper and lower jaws, the labial lobes, to partly close the corners of the mouth when they adopt an aquatic lifestyle during their breeding season. Using hydrodynamic simulations based on μCT-scans and cranial kinematics during prey-capture in the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), we show ...[more]

PMID: 27383663

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Project description:BackgroundInflammatory response after myocardial infarction (MI) is essential for cardiac healing, whereas excessive and prolonged inflammation extends the infarction and promotes adverse cardiac remodeling. Understanding the mechanistic insight of these tightly controlled inflammatory processes has a significant impact on post-MI recovery and therapy. Here, we uncover the critical role of small GTPase RhoE in post-MI recovery and its clinical implication.MethodsThree genetic mouse lines are used: global RhoE knockout, cardiomyocyte-specific RhoE heterozygous, and cardiomyocyte-specific RhoE overexpression mice. A set of molecular signaling experiments, including bimolecular fluorescence complementation, immunoprecipitation, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and mRNA microarray analysis, were conducted. Permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery was performed, followed by the assessments of cardiac function, inflammation, and survival in the first week after MI. Finally, we examined the correlation of the expression levels of RhoE in MI patient heart and patient prognosis.ResultsRhoE deficiency turns on a group of proinflammatory gene expressions in mouse heart. Mice with cardiomyocyte-specific haploinsufficiency exhibit excessive inflammatory response with deleterious cardiac function after MI. A profound increase in nuclear factor-κB activity is detected in the mutant heart and the isolated cardiomyocytes. We further find that the expression of RhoE is upregulated in response to MI. Mechanistically, RhoE interacts with p65 and p50 individually in cytosol and blocks their nuclear translocation. RhoE also occupies the dimerization domain of p65 and subsequently disrupts the heterodimerization between p65 and p50. Cardiac RhoE overexpression inhibits nuclear factor-κB activity, restrains post-MI inflammation, and improves cardiac function and survival. Consistently, we find that the expression level of RhoE is elevated in the heart of patients with MI and that the patients with a higher expression level of RhoE exhibit a better prognosis in cardiac function recovery.ConclusionsThe study uncovers RhoE as a new fine-tuning factor modulating MI-induced inflammation and promoting injured heart recovery. RhoE may serve as a new potential biomarker for the assessment of MI patient prognosis. Manipulation of RhoE could be as a potential therapeutic approach for MI and other inflammatory diseases.

Dataset Information

Phenotypic flexibility of gape anatomy fine-tunes the aquatic prey-capture system of newts.

Publications

Phenotypic flexibility of gape anatomy fine-tunes the aquatic prey-capture system of newts.

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