Why do spiders grow big legs?

Image from pixabay.com

On August 4, local time, researchers from the University of Wisconsin, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and Western Connecticut State University in the United States published a paper in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society b, revealing from the genomic level why the legs of blind spiders (phalangium opilium) are so long.

The blind spider is native to the subtropical regions of Asia. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 species of blind spiders worldwide, and they are distributed all over the world except Antarctica. These animals prefer a warm environment and therefore often hide in buildings. To explore why blind spiders have such long legs, the researchers obtained the first genome data of blind spiders in the new study. They also tweaked some of these genes to see what would change.

In the beginning, the researchers isolated two genes involved in leg development. Under the microscope, they saw that when the blind spider was just an embryo, the two genes were activated in its legs. Subsequently, using RNA interference, they blocked the activation of both genes in several samples. Thus was born the blind spider with short legs, which became pedipalps, the appendages normally used to handle food.

In addition, the researchers also discovered another gene involved in leg development, and also closed the "test" on this gene. This operation also causes the blind spider's legs to become shorter, but instead of forming whiskers, it loses its tarsal segmentation, making it impossible for the spider to wrap around objects.

The researchers believe that this work may help to better understand the leg development of blind spiders that are good at "grasping". They also believe that as more genes associated with the development of the legs of pharoum opilium and other blind spiders are discovered and investigated, it is possible to reveal more mysteries about their large long legs.

Compiler: Filament Reviewer: Seamus Editor-in-Charge: Chen Zhihan

Journal Source: Proceedings of the Royal Societyb

Issue number: 0962-8452

Original link: https://phys.org/news/2021-08-genetically-daddy-longlegs-short-legs.html

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