Unique structural features facilitate lizard tail autotomy

Kristian W Sanggaard; Carl Chr Danielsen; Lise Wogensen; Mads S Vinding; Louise M Rydtoft; Martin B Mortensen; Henrik Karring; Niels Christian Nielsen; Tobias Wang; Ida B Thøgersen; Jan Johannes Enghild

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051803

Unique structural features facilitate lizard tail autotomy

Kristian W Sanggaard, Carl Chr Danielsen, Lise Wogensen, Mads S Vinding, Louise M Rydtoft, Martin B Mortensen, Henrik Karring, Niels Christian Nielsen, Tobias Wang, Ida B Thøgersen, Jan Johannes Enghild

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

545 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Autotomy refers to the voluntary shedding of a body part; a renowned example is tail loss among lizards as a response to attempted predation. Although many aspects of lizard tail autotomy have been studied, the detailed morphology and mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that tail shedding by the Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) and the associated extracellular matrix (ECM) rupture were independent of proteolysis. Instead, lizard caudal autotomy relied on biological adhesion facilitated by surface microstructures. Results based on bio-imaging techniques demonstrated that the tail of Gekko gecko was pre-severed at distinct sites and that its structural integrity depended on the adhesion between these segments.

Original language	English
Journal	P L o S One
Volume	7
Issue	12
Pages (from-to)	e51803
Number of pages	8
ISSN	1932-6203
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051803
Publication status	Published - 19 Dec 2012

Access to Document

10.1371/journal.pone.0051803

Open access articleFinal published version, 1 MB

Cite this

@article{9be8daaf0a434e468162c1fe0f852129,

title = "Unique structural features facilitate lizard tail autotomy",

abstract = "Autotomy refers to the voluntary shedding of a body part; a renowned example is tail loss among lizards as a response to attempted predation. Although many aspects of lizard tail autotomy have been studied, the detailed morphology and mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that tail shedding by the Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) and the associated extracellular matrix (ECM) rupture were independent of proteolysis. Instead, lizard caudal autotomy relied on biological adhesion facilitated by surface microstructures. Results based on bio-imaging techniques demonstrated that the tail of Gekko gecko was pre-severed at distinct sites and that its structural integrity depended on the adhesion between these segments.",

author = "Sanggaard, {Kristian W} and Danielsen, {Carl Chr} and Lise Wogensen and Vinding, {Mads S} and Rydtoft, {Louise M} and Mortensen, {Martin B} and Henrik Karring and Nielsen, {Niels Christian} and Tobias Wang and Th{\o}gersen, {Ida B} and Enghild, {Jan Johannes}",

year = "2012",

month = dec,

day = "19",

doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0051803",

language = "English",

volume = "7",

pages = "e51803",

journal = "P L o S One",

issn = "1932-6203",

publisher = "public library of science",

number = "12",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Unique structural features facilitate lizard tail autotomy

AU - Sanggaard, Kristian W

AU - Danielsen, Carl Chr

AU - Wogensen, Lise

AU - Vinding, Mads S

AU - Rydtoft, Louise M

AU - Mortensen, Martin B

AU - Karring, Henrik

AU - Nielsen, Niels Christian

AU - Wang, Tobias

AU - Thøgersen, Ida B

AU - Enghild, Jan Johannes

PY - 2012/12/19

Y1 - 2012/12/19

N2 - Autotomy refers to the voluntary shedding of a body part; a renowned example is tail loss among lizards as a response to attempted predation. Although many aspects of lizard tail autotomy have been studied, the detailed morphology and mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that tail shedding by the Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) and the associated extracellular matrix (ECM) rupture were independent of proteolysis. Instead, lizard caudal autotomy relied on biological adhesion facilitated by surface microstructures. Results based on bio-imaging techniques demonstrated that the tail of Gekko gecko was pre-severed at distinct sites and that its structural integrity depended on the adhesion between these segments.

AB - Autotomy refers to the voluntary shedding of a body part; a renowned example is tail loss among lizards as a response to attempted predation. Although many aspects of lizard tail autotomy have been studied, the detailed morphology and mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that tail shedding by the Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) and the associated extracellular matrix (ECM) rupture were independent of proteolysis. Instead, lizard caudal autotomy relied on biological adhesion facilitated by surface microstructures. Results based on bio-imaging techniques demonstrated that the tail of Gekko gecko was pre-severed at distinct sites and that its structural integrity depended on the adhesion between these segments.

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0051803

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0051803

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 23284771

SN - 1932-6203

VL - 7

SP - e51803

JO - P L o S One

JF - P L o S One

IS - 12

ER -

Unique structural features facilitate lizard tail autotomy

Abstract

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this