Add BrightSurf on Google Email

Developmental origins of the urostyle

01.27.20 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter

Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter measures wind, temperature, and humidity in real time for site assessments, aviation checks, and safety briefings.
A tadpole at the beginning of metamorphosis (left) and a froglet after metamorphosis (right).
A tadpole (stage 59, Xenopus tropicalis) at the beginning of metamorphosis (left) and a froglet (stage 66, X. tropicalis) after metamorphosis (right). The skeleton undergoes dramatic remodeling during metamorphosis, and the urostyle is formed during this time. Credit: Image Courtesy of Gayani Senevirathne

A study examining the developmental origins of the frog urostyle--a unique structure that evolved around 200 million years ago and forms during metamorphosis as the tail regresses and axial locomotion in larve gives way to limb-driven movement in adults--finds that thyroid hormone-mediated ossification and expansion of the hypochord, a key component of the urostyle, played a major role in tail loss, rearrangement of the dorsal aorta, and evolution of the body plan of Anura, the amphibian order that includes frogs.

###

Article # 19-17506: "Ontogeny of the anuran urostyle and the developmental context of evolutionary novelty," by Gayani Senevirathne, Stephanie Baumgart, Nathaniel Shubin, James Hanken, and Neil H. Shubin.

MEDIA CONTACT: Neil Shubin, University of Chicago, IL; tel: 773-834-7472; e-mail: < nshubin@uchicago.edu >

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Additional Media

A metamorphosed frog (stage 66, Xenopus tropicalis), highlighting the urostyle.
A metamorphosed frog (stage 66, Xenopus tropicalis), highlighting the urostyle. Credit: Image Courtesy of Gayani Senevirathne
Lateral view of a metamorphosing tadpole (stage 64, Xenopus tropicalis), showing the developing urostyle.
Lateral view of a metamorphosing tadpole (stage 64, Xenopus tropicalis), showing the developing urostyle. Credit: Image Courtesy of Gayani Senevirathne

Keywords

Evolutionary Developmental Biology Frogs Thyroid Gland

Article Information

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Contact Information

Neil Shubin
nshubin@uchicago.edu

How to Cite This Article

APA:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (2020, January 27). Developmental origins of the urostyle. Brightsurf News. https://www.brightsurf.com/news/8Y4PNNYL/developmental-origins-of-the-urostyle.html
MLA:
"Developmental origins of the urostyle." Brightsurf News, Jan. 27 2020, https://www.brightsurf.com/news/8Y4PNNYL/developmental-origins-of-the-urostyle.html.