Giuseppe Fusco

University of Padua

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Alessandro Minelli

Ospedale San Paolo

Nigel C. Hughes

University of California, Riverside

Lucio Bonato

University of Palermo

Francesca Bortolin

University of Padua

Paul S. Hong

Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources

Xingliang Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics

Małgorzata Leśniewska

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Mark Webster

University of Chicago

Chia-Hsun Chuang

Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

W.E. Bardsley

University of Waikato

Cooperative Institutions

University of Padua

Chinese Academy of Sciences

University of California, Riverside

University of Chicago

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

University College London

University of Arizona

Heidelberg University

University of Palermo

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DEVELOPMENTAL TRAIT EVOLUTION IN TRILOBITES

Evolution (2011)

Giuseppe Fusco Theodore Garland Gene Hunt Nigel C. Hughes

We performed a tree-based analysis of trilobite postembryonic development in a sample of 60 species for which quantitative data on segmentation and growth increments between putative successive instars are available, and that spans much of the temporal, phylogenetic, and habitat range of the group. Three developmental traits were investigated: the developmental mode of trunk segmentation, the average per-molt growth rate, and the conformity to a constant per-molt growth rate (Dyar's rule), for which an original metric was devised. Growth rates are within the normal range with respect to other arthropods and show overall conformity to Dyar's rule. Randomization tests indicate statistically significant phylogenetic signal for growth in early juveniles but not in later stages. Among five evolutionary models fit via maximum likelihood, one in which growth rates vary independently among species, analogous to Brownian motion on a star phylogeny, is the best supported in all ontogenetic stages, although a model with a single, stationary peak to which growth rates are attracted also garners nontrivial support. These results are not consistent with unbounded, Brownian-motion-like evolutionary dynamics, but instead suggest the influence of an adaptive zone. Our results suggest that developmental traits in trilobites were relatively labile during evolutionary history.

Trilobite

Trait

Phylogenetic comparative methods

10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01447.x

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Citations (46)

Structural aspects of leg-to-gonopod metamorphosis in male helminthomorph millipedes (Diplopoda)

Frontiers in Zoology (2011)

Leandro Drago Giuseppe Fusco Elena Garollo Alessandro Minelli

Abstract Background In the adult males of helminthomorph millipedes, one or two pairs of legs in the anterior part of the trunk are strongly modified into sexual appendages (gonopods) used for sperm transfer during the copula. Gonopods differentiate in an advanced phase of post-embryonic development, in most cases as replacement for the walking legs of the seventh trunk ring, as these first regress to tiny primordia, to eventually develop into gonopods at a subsequent stadium. These extremely localized but dramatic changes have been described as a non-systemic metamorphosis. In the present study we describe morphological and anatomical changes of trunk ring VII associated with non-systemic metamorphosis in four helminthomorph species. Results As documented here for the first time by means of traditional histology methods and new techniques based on confocal laser scanning microscopy, the external modifications caused by non-systemic metamorphosis are associated to a huge rearrangement of internal anatomy, mostly due to the development of gonopod apodemes and extrinsic muscles. Conclusions Internal changes in the seventh trunk ring, locally leading to the dorsal displacement of the ventral nerve cord and the digestive tract, are modulated in a taxon-specific manner, and are very conspicuous in the blaniulids Nopoiulus kochii and Blaniulus guttulatus , with likely major functional consequences.

Gonopod

Appendage

Ventral nerve cord

10.1186/1742-9994-8-19

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Citations (38)

Exploring Developmental Modes in a Fossil Arthropod: Growth and Trunk Segmentation of the TrilobiteAulacopleura konincki

The American Naturalist (2004)

Giuseppe Fusco Nigel C. Hughes Mark Webster Alessandro Minelli

Trilobites offer the opportunity to explore postembryonic development within the fossil record of arthropod evolution. In contrast to most trilobites, the Silurian proetid Aulacopleura konincki from the Czech Republic exhibits marked variation in the mature number of thoracic segments, with five morphs with 18–22 thoracic segments. The combination of abundant articulated specimens available from a narrow stratigraphic interval and segmental intraspecific variation makes this trilobite singularly useful for studying postembryonic growth and segmentation. Trunk segmentation followed a hemianamorphic pattern, as seen in other arthropods and as characteristic of the Trilobita; during a first anamorphic phase, segments were accreted, while in the subsequent epimorphic phase, segmentation did not proceed further despite continued growth. Size increment during the anamorphic phase was targeted and followed Dyar's rule, a geometric progression typical of many arthropods. We consider alternative hypotheses for the control of the switch from anamorphic to epimorphic phases of development. Our analysis favors a scenario in which the mature number of thoracic segments was determined quite early in development rather than at a late stage in association with a critical size threshold. This study demonstrates that hypotheses concerning developmental pattern and control can be tested in organisms belonging to an extinct clade.

Trilobite

Arthropod

10.1086/381042

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Citations (78)

Cell size versus body size in geophilomorph centipedes

The Science of Nature (2015)

Marco Moretto Alessandro Minelli Giuseppe Fusco

Cell size

Variation (astronomy)

Cuticle (hair)

10.1007/s00114-015-1269-4

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Citations (9)

A new method for evaluating the shape of large phylogenies

Journal of Theoretical Biology (1995)

Giuseppe Fusco Quentin Cronk

Cladogram

Tree (set theory)

Branching (polymer chemistry)

10.1006/jtbi.1995.0136

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Citations (62)

Population Genetic Structure of a Centipede Species with High Levels of Developmental Instability

PLoS ONE (2015)

Giuseppe Fusco Małgorzata Leśniewska Leonardo Congiu Giorgio Bertorelle

European populations of the geophilomorph centipede Haplophilus subterraneus show a high proportion of individuals with morphological anomalies, suggesting high levels of developmental instability. The broad geographic distribution of this phenomenon seems to exclude local environmental causes, but the source of instability is still to be identified. The goal of the present study was to collect quantitative data on the occurrence of phenodeviants in different populations, along with data on the patterns of genetic variation within and between populations, in order to investigate possible association between developmental instability and genetic features. In a sample of 11 populations of H. subterraneus, distributed in western and central Europe, we looked for phenodeviants, in particular with respect to trunk morphology, and studied genetic variation through the genotyping of microsatellite loci. Overall, no support was found to the idea that developmental instability in H. subterraneus is related to a specific patterns of genetic variation, including inbreeding estimates. We identified a major genetic partition that subdivides French populations from the others, and a low divergence among northwestern areas, which are possibly related to the post-glacial recolonization from southern refugia and/or to recent anthropogenic soil displacements. A weak correlation between individual number of leg bearing segments and the occurrence of trunk anomalies seems to support a trade-off between these two developmental traits. These results, complemented by preliminary data on developmental stability in two related species, suggest that the phenomenon has not a simple taxonomic distribution, while it exhibits an apparent localization in central and eastern Europe.

Fluctuating asymmetry

Genetic divergence

Centipede

10.1371/journal.pone.0126245

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Citations (2)

Comparative analysis of diet in syntopic geophilomorph species (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha) using a DNA-based approach

Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2018)

Francesca Bortolin Giuseppe Fusco Lucio Bonato

Guild

Arthropod

Niche differentiation

10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.09.021

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Citations (12)

The Biology of Reproduction

Giuseppe Fusco Alessandro Minelli

Reproduction is a fundamental feature of life, it is the way life persists across the ages. This book offers new, wider vistas on this fundamental biological phenomenon, exploring how it works through the whole tree of life. It explores facets such as asexual reproduction, parthenogenesis, sex determination and reproductive investment, with a taxonomic coverage extended over all the main groups - animals, plants including 'algae', fungi, protists and bacteria. It collates into one volume perspectives from varied disciplines - including zoology, botany, microbiology, genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, animal and plant physiology, and ethology - integrating information into a common language. Crucially, the book aims to identify the commonalties among reproductive phenomena, while demonstrating the diversity even amongst closely related taxa. Its integrated approach makes this a valuable reference book for students and researchers, as well as an effective entry point for deeper study on specific topics.

Ethology

Parthenogenesis

Asexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction

10.1017/9781108758970

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Citations (53)

Segmental mismatch in crustacean appendages: The naupliar antennal exopod of Artemia (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Anostraca)

Arthropod Structure & Development (2008)

Diego Maruzzo Alessandro Minelli Giuseppe Fusco

Appendage

Autapomorphy