Experiments were performed on a neuro-musculo-mechanical model of a lamprey, to explore the strategies for controlling swimming speed. The muscle component of the model was based on previous experiments on isolated lamprey muscle. The patterns of muscle activation were those found in EMG studies on swimming lampreys. The fluid mechanics were modelled with G.I. Taylor's simplification. Tail beat...

While most actinopterygian fishes perform C-start or S-start behaviors as their primary startle responses, many elongate species instead use a withdrawal movement. Studies of withdrawal have focused on the response to head-directed or nonspecific stimuli. During withdrawal, the animal moves its head back from the stimulus, often resulting in several tight bends in the body. In contrast to C-sta...

Dictyostelium lacking myosin II cannot grow in suspension culture, develop beyond the mound stage or cap concanavalin A receptors and chemotaxis is impaired. Recently, we showed that the actin-activated MgATPase activity of myosin chimeras in which the tail domain of Dictyostelium myosin II heavy chain is replaced by the tail domain of either Acanthamoeba or chicken smooth muscle myosin II is u...

ABSTRACf. The present study was concerned with the ultrastructure of the mandibular externus of the jaw and the tail skeletal muscles of U. aegyptia. Results obtained revealed differences in general morphology between the two muscles. The sarcoplasmic reticulum, T-system, and large deposits of glycogen granules, were encountered in the jaw muscle. However, the SR are not well developed. In cont...

Air and water differ dramatically in density and viscosity, posing different biomechanical challenges for animal locomotion. We asked how terrestrial acclimation influences locomotion in amphibious fish, specifically testing the hypothesis that terrestrial tail flip performance is improved by plastic changes in the skeletal muscle. Mangrove rivulus Kryptolebias marmoratus, which remain largely ...

BACKGROUND: Fat-tailed sheep breeds have a  unique  ability  to  tolerate  periods  of  negative  energy  balance  due to seasonal changes in feed availability. This ability is attributed to presence  of  fat-tail  as  a  body  energy  reserve, however the exact underlying  mechanisms  controlling  the  response  of adipose  tissue  depots  to variations in energy balance in fat-tailed breeds a...

α4β1 integrin regulates cell migration via cytoplasmic interactions. Here, we report an association between the cytoplasmic tail of α4 integrin (α4 tail) and non-muscle myosin IIA (MIIA), demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation of the MIIA heavy chain (HC) with anti-α4-integrin antibodies and pull-down of MIIA-HC with recombinant α4 tail from cell lysates. The association between the α4 tail and...