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Interspecies variation of larval locomotion kinematics in the genus Drosophila and its relation to habitat temperature

Release:Sep 2, 2021
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Background

Speed and trajectory of locomotion are the characteristic traits of individual species. Locomotion kinematics may have been shaped during evolution towards increased survival in the habitats of each species. Although kinematics of locomotion is thought to be influenced by habitats, the quantitative relation between the kinematics and environmental factors has not been fully revealed. Here, we performed comparative analyses of larval locomotion in 11 Drosophila species.

Results

We found that larval locomotion kinematics are divergent among the species. The diversity is not correlated to the body length but is correlated instead to the habitat temperature of the species. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference suggest that the evolutionary rate of the kinematics is diverse among phylogenetic tree branches.

Conclusions

The results of this study imply that the kinematics of larval locomotion has diverged in the evolutionary history of the genus Drosophila and evolved under the effects of the ambient temperature of habitats.

Article

Authors: Yuji Matsuo, Akinao Nose, Hiroshi Kohsaka

Title: Interspecies variation of larval locomotion kinematics in the genus Drosophila and its relation to habitat temperature

Pubilication: BMC Biology

DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01110-4

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