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Rathore S, Meece M, Charlton-Perkins M, Cook TA, Buschbeck EK. Probing the conserved roles of cut in the development and function of optically different insect compound eyes. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1104620. [PMID: 37065850 PMCID: PMC10102356 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1104620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Astonishing functional diversity exists among arthropod eyes, yet eye development relies on deeply conserved genes. This phenomenon is best understood for early events, whereas fewer investigations have focused on the influence of later transcriptional regulators on diverse eye organizations and the contribution of critical support cells, such as Semper cells (SCs). As SCs in Drosophila melanogaster secrete the lens and function as glia, they are critical components of ommatidia. Here, we perform RNAi-based knockdowns of the transcription factor cut (CUX in vertebrates), a marker of SCs, the function of which has remained untested in these cell types. To probe for the conserved roles of cut, we investigate two optically different compound eyes: the apposition optics of D. melanogaster and the superposition optics of the diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus. In both cases, we find that multiple aspects of ocular formation are disrupted, including lens facet organization and optics as well as photoreceptor morphogenesis. Together, our findings support the possibility of a generalized role for SCs in arthropod ommatidial form and function and introduces Cut as a central player in mediating this role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubham Rathore
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Michael Meece
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Mark Charlton-Perkins
- Division of Developmental Biology and Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Tiffany A. Cook
- Center of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Department of Ophthalmological, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Tiffany A. Cook, ; Elke K. Buschbeck,
| | - Elke K. Buschbeck
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- *Correspondence: Tiffany A. Cook, ; Elke K. Buschbeck,
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2
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Schoenemann B, Clarkson ENK. The median eyes of trilobites. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3917. [PMID: 36890176 PMCID: PMC9995485 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31089-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Arthropods typically possess two types of eyes-compound eyes, and the ocellar, so called 'median eyes'. Only trilobites, an important group of arthropods during the Palaeozoic, seem not to possess median eyes. While compound eyes are in focus of many investigations, median eyes are not as well considered. Here we give an overview of the occurence of median eyes in the arthropod realm and their phylogenetic relationship to other ocellar eye-systems among invertebrates. We discuss median eyes as represented in the fossil record e.g. in arthropods of the Cambrian fauna, and document median eyes in trilobites the first time. We make clear that ocellar systems, homologue to median eyes and possibly their predecessors are the primordial visual system, and that the compound eyes evolved later. Furthermore, the original number of median eyes is two, as retained in chelicerates. Four, probably the consequence of a gene-dublication, can be found for example in basal crustaceans, three is a derived number by fusion of the central median eyes and characterises Mandibulata. Median eyes are present in larval trilobites, but lying below a probably thin, translucent cuticle, as described here, which explains why they have hitherto escaped detection. So this article gives a review about the complexity of representation and evolution of median eyes among arthropods, and fills the gap of missing median eyes in trilobites. Thus now the number of median eyes represented in an arthropod is an important tool to find its position in the phylogenetic tree.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Schoenemann
- Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology (Neurobiology, Animal Physiology), University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Euan N K Clarkson
- Grant Institute, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, UK
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3
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Spaeker O, Taylor GJ, Wilts BD, Slabý T, Abdel‐Rahman MAK, Scoppola E, Schmitt CNZ, Sztucki M, Liu J, Bertinetti L, Wagermaier W, Scholtz G, Fratzl P, Politi Y. Gradients of Orientation, Composition, and Hydration of Proteins for Efficient Light Collection by the Cornea of the Horseshoe Crab. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2203371. [PMID: 36251923 PMCID: PMC9685478 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202203371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The lateral eyes of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, are the largest compound eyes within recent Arthropoda. The cornea of these eyes contains hundreds of inward projecting elongated cuticular cones and concentrate light onto proximal photoreceptor cells. Although this visual system has been extensively studied before, the precise mechanism allowing vision has remained controversial. Correlating high-resolution quantitative refractive index (RI) mapping and structural analysis, it is demonstrated how gradients of RI in the cornea stem from structural and compositional gradients in the cornea. In particular, these RI variations result from the chitin-protein fibers architecture, heterogeneity in protein composition, and bromine doping, as well as spatial variation in water content resulting from matrix cross-linking on the one hand and cuticle porosity on the other hand. Combining the realistic cornea structure and measured RI gradients with full-wave optical modeling and ray tracing, it is revealed that the light collection mechanism switches from refraction-based graded index (GRIN) optics at normal light incidence to combined GRIN and total internal reflection mechanism at high incident angles. The optical properties of the cornea are governed by different mechanisms at different hierarchical levels, demonstrating the remarkable versatility of arthropod cuticle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Spaeker
- Department of BiomaterialsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces14476PotsdamGermany
| | - Gavin J. Taylor
- Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE)Ribeirão Preto14091‐310Brazil
| | - Bodo D. Wilts
- Chemistry and Physics of MaterialsUniversity of SalzburgJakob‐Haringer‐Str. 2aSalzburg5020Austria
- Adolphe Merkle InstituteUniversity of FribourgChemin des Verdiers 4Fribourg1700Switzerland
| | - Tomáš Slabý
- TELIGHTLibušina třída 21Brno623 00Czech Republic
| | | | - Ernesto Scoppola
- Department of BiomaterialsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces14476PotsdamGermany
| | - Clemens N. Z. Schmitt
- Department of BiomaterialsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces14476PotsdamGermany
| | - Michael Sztucki
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)71 avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220Grenoble Cedex 938043France
| | - Jiliang Liu
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)71 avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220Grenoble Cedex 938043France
| | - Luca Bertinetti
- B CUBE – Center for Molecular BioengineeringTechnische Universität Dresden01307DresdenGermany
| | - Wolfgang Wagermaier
- Department of BiomaterialsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces14476PotsdamGermany
| | - Gerhard Scholtz
- Humboldt‐University BerlinInstitute of BiologyPhilippstraße 1310115BerlinGermany
| | - Peter Fratzl
- Department of BiomaterialsMax Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces14476PotsdamGermany
| | - Yael Politi
- B CUBE – Center for Molecular BioengineeringTechnische Universität Dresden01307DresdenGermany
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4
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Aria C. The origin and early evolution of arthropods. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1786-1809. [PMID: 35475316 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The rise of arthropods is a decisive event in the history of life. Likely the first animals to have established themselves on land and in the air, arthropods have pervaded nearly all ecosystems and have become pillars of the planet's ecological networks. Forerunners of this saga, exceptionally well-preserved Palaeozoic fossils recently discovered or re-discovered using new approaches and techniques have elucidated the precocious appearance of extant lineages at the onset of the Cambrian explosion, and pointed to the critical role of the plankton and hard integuments in early arthropod diversification. The notion put forward at the beginning of the century that the acquisition of extant arthropod characters was stepwise and represented by the majority of Cambrian fossil taxa is being rewritten. Although some key traits leading to Euarthropoda are indeed well documented along a diversified phylogenetic stem, this stem led to several speciose and ecologically diverse radiations leaving descendants late into the Palaeozoic, and a large part, if not all of the Cambrian euarthropods can now be placed on either of the two extant lineages: Mandibulata and Chelicerata. These new observations and discoveries have altered our view on the nature and timing of the Cambrian explosion and clarified diagnostic characters at the origin of extant arthropods, but also raised new questions, especially with respect to cephalic plasticity. There is now strong evidence that early arthropods shared a homologous frontalmost appendage, coined here the cheira, which likely evolved into antennules and chelicerae, but other aspects, such as brain and labrum evolution, are still subject to active debate. The early evolution of panarthropods was generally driven by increased mastication and predation efficiency and sophistication, but a wealth of recent studies have also highlighted the prevalent role of suspension-feeding, for which early panarthropods developed their own adaptive feedback through both specialized appendages and the diversification of small, morphologically differentiated larvae. In a context of general integumental differentiation and hardening across Cambrian metazoans, arthrodization of body and limbs notably prompted two diverging strategies of basipod differentiation, which arguably became founding criteria in the divergence of total-groups Mandibulata and Chelicerata. The kinship of trilobites and their relatives remains a source of disagreement, but a recent topological solution, termed the 'deep split', could embed Artiopoda as sister taxa to chelicerates and constitute definitive support for Arachnomorpha. Although Cambrian fossils have been critical to all these findings, data of exceptional quality have also been accumulating from other Palaeozoic Konservat-Lagerstätten, and a better integration of this information promises a much more complete and elaborate picture of early arthropod evolution in the near future. From the broader perspective of a total-evidence approach to the understanding of life's history, and despite persisting systematic debates and new interpretative challenges, various advances based on palaeontological evidence open the prospect of finally using the full potential of the most diverse animal phylum to investigate macroevolutionary patterns and processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Aria
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, P. R. China.,Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710069, P.R. China
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5
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Charlton-Perkins MA, Friedrich M, Cook TA. Semper's cells in the insect compound eye: Insights into ocular form and function. Dev Biol 2021; 479:126-138. [PMID: 34343526 PMCID: PMC8410683 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The arthropod compound eye represents one of two major eye types in the animal kingdom and has served as an essential experimental paradigm for defining fundamental mechanisms underlying sensory organ formation, function, and maintenance. One of the most distinguishing features of the compound eye is the highly regular array of lens facets that define individual eye (ommatidial) units. These lens facets are produced by a deeply conserved quartet of cuticle-secreting cells, called Semper cells (SCs). Also widely known as cone cells, SCs were originally identified for their secretion of the dioptric system, i.e. the corneal lens and underlying crystalline cones. Additionally, SCs are now known to execute a diversity of patterning and glial functions in compound eye development and maintenance. Here, we present an integrated account of our current knowledge of SC multifunctionality in the Drosophila compound eye, highlighting emerging gene regulatory modules that may drive the diverse roles for these cells. Drawing comparisons with other deeply conserved retinal glia in the vertebrate single lens eye, this discussion speaks to glial cell origins and opens new avenues for understanding sensory system support programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Charlton-Perkins
- Department of Paediatrics, Wellcome-MRC Stem Cell Institute, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, University of Cambridge, Puddicombe Way, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, United Kingdom
| | - Markus Friedrich
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, 5047 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA; Department of Ophthalmological, Visual, and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, 540 East Canfield Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Tiffany A Cook
- Department of Ophthalmological, Visual, and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, 540 East Canfield Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA; Center of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 East Canfield Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
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6
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A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19505. [PMID: 34593889 PMCID: PMC8484558 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98740-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Trilobites, extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Palaeozoic, since their appearance c 523 million years ago, were equipped with elaborate compound eyes. While most of them possessed apposition compound eyes (in trilobites called holochroal eyes), comparable to the compound eyes of many diurnal crustaceans and insects living today, trilobites of the suborder Phacopina developed atypical large eyes with wide lenses and wide interspaces in between (schizochroal eyes). Here, we show that these compound eyes are highly sophisticated systems-hyper-compound eyes hiding an individual compound eye below each of the big lenses. Thus, each of the phacopid compound eyes comprises several tens, in cases even hundreds of small compound eye systems composing a single visual surface. We discuss their development, phylogenetic position of this hyper-compound eye, and its neuronal infrastructure. A hyper-compound eye in this form is unique in the animal realm.
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7
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Liu Y, Edgecombe GD, Schmidt M, Bond AD, Melzer RR, Zhai D, Mai H, Zhang M, Hou X. Exites in Cambrian arthropods and homology of arthropod limb branches. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4619. [PMID: 34330912 PMCID: PMC8324779 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24918-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The last common ancestor of all living arthropods had biramous postantennal appendages, with an endopodite and exopodite branching off the limb base. Morphological evidence for homology of these rami between crustaceans and chelicerates has, however, been challenged by data from clonal composition and from knockout of leg patterning genes. Cambrian arthropod fossils have been cited as providing support for competing hypotheses about biramy but have shed little light on additional lateral outgrowths, known as exites. Here we draw on microtomographic imaging of the Cambrian great-appendage arthropod Leanchoilia to reveal a previously undetected exite at the base of most appendages, composed of overlapping lamellae. A morphologically similar, and we infer homologous, exite is documented in the same position in members of the trilobite-allied Artiopoda. This early Cambrian exite morphology supplements an emerging picture from gene expression that exites may have a deeper origin in arthropod phylogeny than has been appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Liu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Gregory D Edgecombe
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
| | - Michel Schmidt
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Bavarian Natural History Collections, München, Germany
- Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, München, Germany
| | - Andrew D Bond
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK
| | - Roland R Melzer
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Bavarian Natural History Collections, München, Germany
- Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, München, Germany
- GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Dayou Zhai
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Huijuan Mai
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Maoyin Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Xianguang Hou
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
- MEC International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
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8
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Scholtz G, Staude A, Dunlop JA. Reply to "Points of view in understanding trilobite eyes". Nat Commun 2021; 12:2084. [PMID: 33828090 PMCID: PMC8027826 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22228-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Scholtz
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Biologie/Vergleichende Zoologie, Philippstr. 13, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Andreas Staude
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, c/o Zuse Institut Berlin (ZIB), Takustr. 7, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason A Dunlop
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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9
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Schoenemann B, Clarkson ENK. Points of view in understanding trilobite eyes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2081. [PMID: 33828091 PMCID: PMC8027602 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22227-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Schoenemann
- Department of Zoology, Neurobiology/Animal Physiology and Biology Education, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Euan N K Clarkson
- Grant Institute, School of Geosciences, The Kings Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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10
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Schoenemann B. An overview on trilobite eyes and their functioning. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2021; 61:101032. [PMID: 33711677 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2021.101032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Great progress has been made during the last decades in understanding visual systems of arthropods living today. Thus it seems worthwhile to review what is known about structure and function of the eyes of trilobites, the most important group of marine arthropods during the Paleozoic. There are three types of compound eyes in trilobites. The oldest and most abundant is the so-called holochroal eye. The sensory system represents a typical apposition eye, and all units are covered by one cornea in common. The so-called abathochroal eye (only in eodiscid trilobites) consists of small lenses, each individually covered by a thin cuticular cornea. The schizochroal eye is represented just in the suborder Phacopina, and probably is a highly specialized visual system. We discuss the calcitic character of trilobite lenses, the phylogenetic relevance of the existence of crystalline cones in trilobites, and consider adaptations of trilobite's compound eyes to different ecological constraints. The aim of this article is to give a resumé of what is known so far about trilobite vision, and to open perspectives to what still might be done.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Schoenemann
- University of Cologne, Zoology Department (Neurobiology/Animal Physiology and Biology Education), Herbert-Lewin-Straße 10, D-50931, Cologne, Germany.
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11
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Edgecombe GD. Arthropod Origins: Integrating Paleontological and Molecular Evidence. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-124437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Phylogenomics underpins a stable and mostly well-resolved hypothesis for the interrelationships of extant arthropods. Exceptionally preserved fossils are integrated into this framework by coding their morphological characters, as exemplified by total-evidence dating approaches that treat fossils as dated tips in analyses numerically dominated by molecular data. Cambrian fossils inform on the sequence of character acquisition in the arthropod stem group and in the stems of its main extant clades. The arthropod head problem incorporates unique appendage combinations and remains of the nervous system in fossils into a scheme mostly based on neuroanatomy and Hox expression domains for extant forms. Molecular estimates of arthropod origins in the Cryogenian or Ediacaran predate a coherent picture from the arthropod fossil record, which commences as trace fossils in the earliest Cambrian. Probabilistic morphological clock analysis of trilobites, which exemplify the earliest arthropod body fossils, supports a Cambrian origin, without the need to posit an unfossilized Ediacaran history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory D. Edgecombe
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
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12
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Schoenemann B, Poschmann M, Clarkson ENK. Insights into the 400 million-year-old eyes of giant sea scorpions (Eurypterida) suggest the structure of Palaeozoic compound eyes. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17797. [PMID: 31780700 PMCID: PMC6882788 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53590-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea scorpions (Eurypterida, Chelicerata) of the Lower Devonian (~400 Mya) lived as large, aquatic predators. The structure of modern chelicerate eyes is very different from that of mandibulate compound eyes [Mandibulata: Crustacea and Tracheata (Hexapoda, such as insects, and Myriapoda)]. Here we show that the visual system of Lower Devonian (~400 Mya) eurypterids closely matches that of xiphosurans (Xiphosura, Chelicerata). Modern representatives of this group, the horseshoe crabs (Limulidae), have cuticular lens cylinders and usually also an eccentric cell in their sensory apparatus. This strongly suggests that the xiphosuran/eurypterid compound eye is a plesiomorphic structure with respect to the Chelicerata, and probably ancestral to that of Euchelicerata, including Eurypterida, Arachnida and Xiphosura. This is supported by the fact that some Palaeozoic scorpions also possessed compound eyes similar to those of eurypterids. Accordingly, edge enhancement (lateral inhibition), organised by the eccentric cell, most useful in scattered light-conditions, may be a very old mechanism, while the single-lens system of arachnids is possibly an adaptation to a terrestrial life-style.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Schoenemann
- University of Cologne, Zoology Department/ Neurobiology/Animal Physiology/Institute of Biology Education, Herbert-Lewin-Straße 10, D-50931, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Markus Poschmann
- Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe RLP, Direktion Landesarchäologie/Erdgeschichte, Niederberger Höhe 1, D-56077, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Euan N K Clarkson
- University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, School of Geosciences, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, Scotland
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13
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Bicknell RDC, Amati L, Ortega-Hernández J. New insights into the evolution of lateral compound eyes in Palaeozoic horseshoe crabs. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Vision allows animals to interact with their environment. Aquatic chelicerates dominate the early record of lateral compound eyes among non-biomineralizing crown-group euarthropods. Although the conservative morphology of lateral eyes in Xiphosura is potentially plesiomorphic for Euarthropoda, synziphosurine eye organization has received little attention despite their early diverging phylogenetic position. Here, we re-evaluate the fossil evidence for lateral compound eyes in the synziphosurines Bunodes sp., Cyamocephalus loganensis, Legrandella lombardii, Limuloides limuloides, Pseudoniscus clarkei, Pseudoniscus falcatus and Pseudoniscus roosevelti. We compare these data with lateral eyes in the euchelicerates Houia yueya, Kasibelinurus amicorum and Lunataspis aurora. We find no convincing evidence for lateral eyes in most studied taxa, and Pseudoniscus roosevelti and Legrandella lombardii are the only synziphosurines with this feature. Our findings support two scenarios for euchelicerate lateral eye evolution. The elongate-crescentic lateral eyes of Legrandella lombardii might represent the ancestral organization, as suggested by the phylogenetic position of this taxon in stem-group Euchelicerata. Alternatively, the widespread occurrence of kidney-shaped lateral eyes in stem-group Xiphosura and stem-group Arachnida could represent the plesiomorphic condition; Legrandella lombardii eyes would therefore be derived. Both evolutionary scenarios support the interpretation that kidney-shaped lateral eyes are ancestral for crown-group Euchelicerata and morphologically conserved in extant Limulus polyphemus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell D C Bicknell
- Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Lisa Amati
- Paleontology, New York State Museum, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Javier Ortega-Hernández
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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