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“One of the unique characteristics of daddy’s long legs is the ability to flex the tips of their legs,” says Vanessa L. González, a computational genomics scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, using small, articulated pieces called tarsomers.
Caitlin M. Baker
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Legend switch
Caitlin M. Baker
“One of the unique characteristics of daddy’s long legs is the ability to flex the tips of their legs,” says Vanessa L. González, a computational genomics scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, using small, articulated pieces called tarsomers.
Caitlin M. Baker
To get an idea of why scientists want to study daddy’s long legs, try playing the game “One of them is not like the others” the next time you see one.
“If you watch a dad move with his long legs, he’ll only walk on three pairs of legs,” says Guilherme Gainett, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The remaining legs, he adds, sway in the air, checking the spider’s girth.
And when they find something interesting, they can have it.
“A unique feature of daddy’s long legs is the ability to curl the ends of their legs, which is achieved by dividing them into dozens of small, jointed pieces called tarsomers,” Vanessa L. Gonzalez, a computational genomics scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, told NPR.
You might think the braid is like the part between your knuckles, Gonzalez said.
One leg can hold dozens of shrimp plants, making it incredibly versatile. To find out how the spider developed this ability, Gonzalez, Genet, and their fellow researchers sequenced the genome of daddy’s long legs – and ultimately, they managed to create paternal deficiencies by manipulating his genes.
It’s another step in understanding the arachnid genome and the evolution of their bodily planes, including their unique legs, Gonzalez said. She and Jeanette are co-authors of the study, which was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Evolution based on gene recycling
The researchers found that the long legs of abi, also known as cultured men, evolved their own legs not through a secret genetic component, but by reusing parts of the same genetic recipe found in d. other arthropods, such as genes that affect trussima subsegments. of the leg.
“Other arthropods have trichomes,” said researcher Prashant Sharma, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “but only hunters use them for a wide range of behaviors – detecting, climbing, fighting, courtship.” .
Scientists came to their conclusions by interfering with or “destroying” the genes of the Hox spider. They are a kind of homeobox genes – which determine the physical planes of animals. To imagine how it works, Gonzalez suggests thinking of a dimmer on a light. Rather than trying to turn off the gene completely, the researchers wanted to reduce it to a very low level.
When the researchers refused to express two specific genes, my father’s long legs developed legs that were much shorter than normal. Instead, the legs became staples – attachments used for diet.
In the future, similar studies could look at genes responsible for other interesting characteristics, such as spider fangs, Gonzalez said.
Daddy’s long paw has dozens of tarsomers – tiny joints that allow the spider to twist and wrap its paws around things like twigs. Since there are dozens of Alphabet plants, the leggy daddy can bend his stem very tightly.
Caitlin M. Baker
Hide caption
Legend switch
Caitlin M. Baker
Daddy’s long paw has dozens of tarsomers – tiny joints that allow the spider to twist and wrap its paws around things like twigs. Since there are dozens of Alphabet plants, the leggy daddy can bend his stem very tightly.
Caitlin M. Baker
Altroser plants help maintain tall paternal stems
Tsumerats are small joints on the distal ends of the legs, which allow daddy’s long legs to roll and wrap their legs around objects, such as twigs or even other long legs. Daddy’s legs. “
“If you have more slices on your fingers, you will be able to bend your finger more tightly,” she added. “Then if your finger has a lot more segments and it’s also a lot longer, you can hang on to just about anything. These trusses help the legs to acquire a gripping ability, like a “curly follicular tail”.
Another special feature of the paws is a survival style that scientists call self-cutting. Gonzalez said the spider’s legs can “pull away from the body, a trick used to distract predators while the daddy’s long legs escape along with the rest of the legs.”
What do you do if you meet a leggy dad?
People in the United States are probably very familiar with their father’s long legs. When asked what they do when they encounter one, Gonzalez said they are harmless.
“obilio battalions It is one of the most prevalent types of crops in the world and can be easily seen in cities. One of the biggest misconceptions, she said, is that they are poisonous, but are “too weak” to sting, “adding that spiders do not have venom and do not not bite.
“If you come across one in the woods or in your house, look for it in amazement and let it continue on its way,” she said. “If you feel like you need to remove it from inside your house, hold it gently and place it outside.”
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