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Related Experiment Video

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In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes
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How the pterosaur got its wings.

Masayoshi Tokita1

  • 1Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.

Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|November 1, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Pterosaur wing evolution involved a disproportionately long fourth finger and wing membrane, likely regulated by specific gene expressions like Hoxd and SHH signaling. This research uses developmental biology to understand these extinct flying reptiles.

Keywords:
batsbirdsbonedevelopmentevolutionfingersmusclepterosaurswingwing membrane

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary developmental biology
  • Paleontology
  • Vertebrate morphology

Background:

  • Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight, featuring unique wing structures.
  • Understanding pterosaur wing evolution is crucial for evolutionary biology, given their early flight and large size.
  • Key pterosaur wing features include an elongated fourth finger and a brachiopatagium membrane.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To speculate on the developmental basis of pterosaur wing evolution.
  • To integrate recent advances in developmental biology of extant vertebrates to understand extinct lineages.
  • To explore the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying pterosaur flight apparatus development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of morphological features of pterosaur wings (elongated fourth finger, brachiopatagium).
  • Hypothesizing the role of gene regulation, including Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling and Homeobox D (Hoxd) genes (Hoxd11, Hoxd12, Hoxd13), in limb development.
  • Considering the involvement of signaling pathways like Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), Fgf10, and Tbx3 in wing membrane and digit elongation.
  • Examining potential regulatory changes in genes controlling forelimb and pectoral girdle development (e.g., Tbx5) and cell-cell interactions.

Main Results:

  • The elongated fourth finger may result from up-regulated, restricted, and prolonged Hoxd gene expression around the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA), mediated by SHH signaling.
  • Hoxd genes likely influence BMP signaling to promote chondrocyte proliferation in long bones.
  • Fgf10 and Tbx3 expression in the brachiopatagium primordium may contribute to fourth finger elongation.
  • Pterosaurs likely evolved regulatory changes in genes controlling musculoskeletal development and cell interactions for flight adaptation.

Conclusions:

  • Pterosaur wing evolution was likely driven by specific genetic regulatory mechanisms, particularly involving Hoxd genes and SHH signaling, influencing limb and membrane development.
  • Comparative developmental biology offers insights into the evolution of unique morphologies in extinct vertebrates.
  • Further research on extant vertebrate developmental data can illuminate the cellular and molecular basis of body-plan evolution in both extinct and extant species.