Genetically Modified Daddy’s Long Legs Have Short Legs

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, and Western Connecticut State University have assembled the first genome project for Phalangium opilio, the long-legged spider. In their article published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes the clues they found that explain why the spider developed such long legs.

Long-legged spiders, also known as skull spiders, are native to the subtropics of Asia. It is estimated that there are 10,000 species that inhabit all continents except Antarctica. They love warm environments, which is why they are so common in buildings. In this new effort, researchers wondered why spiders have such long legs. To find out, they assembled the spider’s first draft genome, then tweaked some of its genes to see what would happen.

The researchers isolated two genes involved in the development of the legs. Under the microscope, they could see that both genes were activated in the legs when the spider was still just an embryo. Then, using RNA interference, they were able to block the activation of the two genes in several samples. Spiders grew up with short legs, and the short legs grew into pedipalps, limbs typically used for handling food.

Researchers also identified and turned off another gene linked to leg development, which led to short-legged spiders that did not develop into pedipalps but lost their tarsomers, joints that allow a spider’s legs to grow. wrap around objects. They suggest that this work could lead to a better understanding of the development of prehensile legs in a wide range of spiders.

The researchers also suggest that as more and more genes involved in the development of the legs of P. opilio and other long-legged species are discovered and studied, it becomes more likely that an explanation for the development of their long legs be found.

© 2021 Science X Network