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A simple developmental model recapitulates complex insect wing venation patterns

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,
  2. Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637,
  3. Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Department, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027,
  4. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,
  5. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,, Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720

Insect wings are typically supported by thickened struts called veins. These veins form diverse geometric patterns across insects. For many insect species, even the left and right wings from the same individual have veins with unique topological arrangements, and little is known about how these patterns form. We present a large-scale quantitative study of the fingerprint-like “secondary veins.” We compile a dataset of wings from 232 species and 17 families from the order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), a group with particularly elaborate vein patterns. We characterize the geometric arrangements of veins and develop a simple model of secondary vein patterning. We show that our model is capable of recapitulating the vein geometries of species from other, distantly related winged insect clades.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1471162
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1526542
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 40 Vol. 115; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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