| antifreeze proteins in alaskan insects and spiders. | prior to this study, antifreeze proteins (afps) had not been identified in terrestrial arthropods from the arctic or anywhere in alaska. the hemolymph of 75 species of insects and six spiders from interior and arctic alaska were screened for thermal hysteresis (a difference between the freezing and melting points), characteristic of the presence of afps. eighteen species of insects and three spiders were shown to have afps. ten of the insects with afps were beetles including the first species fr ... | 2004 | 15081818 |
| key patterning genes contribute to leg elongation in water striders. | how adaptive phenotypes are shaped by the action of key developmental genes during ontogeny remains poorly understood. water striders, a group of hemipteran insects, present a unique example of adaptation to life on the fluid water surface substrate. the group has undergone a set of leg modifications allowing them to efficiently move on the water surface and hence invade a variety of niches from ponds to open oceans. the elongated legs of water striders play a key role in generating efficient mo ... | 2015 | 25973169 |
| emergence of tissue sensitivity to hox protein levels underlies the evolution of an adaptive morphological trait. | growth control scales morphological attributes and, therefore, provides a critical contribution to the evolution of adaptive traits. yet, the genetic mechanisms underlying growth in the context of specific ecological adaptations are poorly understood. in water striders, adaptation to locomotion on the water surface is associated with allometric and functional changes in thoracic appendages, such that t2-legs, used as propelling oars, are longer than t3-legs, used as steering rudders. the hox gen ... | 2014 | 24886828 |
| structure of an asymmetric hybrid zone between two water strider species (hemiptera: gerridae: limnoporus). | the water stricter species limnoporus dissortis and l. notabilis hybridize across a broad zone in western canada. body length and alleles at four allozyme loci show a steep cline along the east slope of the rocky mountains in western alberta, while in central british columbia the parental phenotypes coexist without merging fully. one sex-linked locus shows little introgression, while there is apparently considerable gene flow at three autosomal loci. although the hybrid zone has characteristics ... | 1991 | 28563833 |