Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian
Although fossil evidence suggests that various animal groups were able to move actively through their environment in the early stages of their evolution, virtually no direct information is available on the nature of their muscle systems. The origin of jellyfish swimming, for example, is of great int...
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| Format: | Article |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2022-01-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/74716 |
| _version_ | 1828382204363800576 |
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| author | Xing Wang Jean Vannier Xiaoguang Yang Lucas Leclère Qiang Ou Xikun Song Tsuyoshi Komiya Jian Han |
| author_facet | Xing Wang Jean Vannier Xiaoguang Yang Lucas Leclère Qiang Ou Xikun Song Tsuyoshi Komiya Jian Han |
| author_sort | Xing Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although fossil evidence suggests that various animal groups were able to move actively through their environment in the early stages of their evolution, virtually no direct information is available on the nature of their muscle systems. The origin of jellyfish swimming, for example, is of great interest to biologists. Exceptionally preserved muscles are described here in benthic peridermal olivooid medusozoans from the basal Cambrian of China (Kuanchuanpu Formation, ca. 535 Ma) that have direct equivalent in modern medusozoans. They consist of circular fibers distributed over the bell surface (subumbrella) and most probably have a myoepithelial origin. This is the oldest record of a muscle system in cnidarians and more generally in animals. This basic system was probably co-opted by early Cambrian jellyfish to develop capacities for jet-propelled swimming within the water column. Additional lines of fossil evidence obtained from ecdysozoans (worms and panarthropods) show that the muscle systems of early animals underwent a rapid diversification through the early Cambrian and increased their capacity to colonize a wide range of habitats both within the water column and sediment at a critical time of their evolutionary radiation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:28:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-963affe1ad2148b5a23a915c5ce62a1b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:28:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
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| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-963affe1ad2148b5a23a915c5ce62a1b2022-12-22T02:02:13ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2022-01-011110.7554/eLife.74716Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal CambrianXing Wang0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1777-864XJean Vannier1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0998-1231Xiaoguang Yang2Lucas Leclère3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7440-0467Qiang Ou4Xikun Song5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3335-0029Tsuyoshi Komiya6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4000-0617Jian Han7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2134-4078Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, China Geological Survey, Qingdao, China; Function Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science & Technology, Qingdao, ChinaUniversité de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5276, Laboratoire de géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Bâtiment GEODE, Villeurbanne, FranceState Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key laboratory of Early Life & Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-Mer (LBDV), Villefranche-sur-mer, FranceEarly Life Evolution Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences & Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Earth Science & Astronomy, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanState Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key laboratory of Early Life & Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an, ChinaAlthough fossil evidence suggests that various animal groups were able to move actively through their environment in the early stages of their evolution, virtually no direct information is available on the nature of their muscle systems. The origin of jellyfish swimming, for example, is of great interest to biologists. Exceptionally preserved muscles are described here in benthic peridermal olivooid medusozoans from the basal Cambrian of China (Kuanchuanpu Formation, ca. 535 Ma) that have direct equivalent in modern medusozoans. They consist of circular fibers distributed over the bell surface (subumbrella) and most probably have a myoepithelial origin. This is the oldest record of a muscle system in cnidarians and more generally in animals. This basic system was probably co-opted by early Cambrian jellyfish to develop capacities for jet-propelled swimming within the water column. Additional lines of fossil evidence obtained from ecdysozoans (worms and panarthropods) show that the muscle systems of early animals underwent a rapid diversification through the early Cambrian and increased their capacity to colonize a wide range of habitats both within the water column and sediment at a critical time of their evolutionary radiation.https://elifesciences.org/articles/74716jellyfish swimmingmotilitymuscle systemsmall shelly fossilsbasal Cambrian |
| spellingShingle | Xing Wang Jean Vannier Xiaoguang Yang Lucas Leclère Qiang Ou Xikun Song Tsuyoshi Komiya Jian Han Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian eLife jellyfish swimming motility muscle system small shelly fossils basal Cambrian |
| title | Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian |
| title_full | Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian |
| title_fullStr | Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian |
| title_full_unstemmed | Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian |
| title_short | Muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal Cambrian |
| title_sort | muscle systems and motility of early animals highlighted by cnidarians from the basal cambrian |
| topic | jellyfish swimming motility muscle system small shelly fossils basal Cambrian |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/74716 |
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