scholarly journals Enhanced flight performance by genetic manipulation of wing shape in Drosophila

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Ray ◽  
Toshiyuki Nakata ◽  
Per Henningsson ◽  
Richard J. Bomphrey
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance

scholarly journals Optimum Wing Shape of Highly Flexible Morphing Aircraft for Improved Flight Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 1305-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihua Su ◽  
Sean Shan-Min Swei ◽  
Guoming G. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Morphing Aircraft

scholarly journals The evolution of avian wing shape and previously unrecognized trends in covert feathering

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20151935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Wang ◽  
Julia A. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Wing Tip ◽  
Plastic Character

Avian wing shape has been related to flight performance, migration, foraging behaviour and display. Historically, linear measurements of the feathered aerofoil and skeletal proportions have been used to describe this shape. While the distribution of covert feathers, layered over the anterior wing, has long been assumed to contribute to aerofoil properties, to our knowledge no previous studies of trends in avian wing shape assessed their variation. Here, these trends are explored using a geometric–morphometric approach with landmarks describing the wing outline as well as the extent of dorsal and ventral covert feathers for 105 avian species. We find that most of the observed variation is explained by phylogeny and ecology but shows only a weak relationship with previously described flight style categories, wing loading and an investigated set of aerodynamic variables. Most of the recovered variation is in greater primary covert feather extent, followed by secondary feather length and the shape of the wing tip. Although often considered a plastic character strongly linked to flight style, the estimated ancestral wing morphology is found to be generally conservative among basal parts of most major avian lineages. The radiation of birds is characterized by successive diversification into largely distinct areas of morphospace. However, aquatic taxa show convergence in feathering despite differences in flight style, and songbirds move into a region of morphospace also occupied by basal taxa but at markedly different body sizes. These results have implications for the proposed inference of flight style in extinct taxa.

scholarly journals Parametric and Statistical Study of the Wing Geometry of 75 Species of Odonata

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 5389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasim Chitsaz ◽  
Romeo Marian ◽  
Amirmasoud Chitsaz ◽  
Javaan S. Chahl
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Statistical Study ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Geometry ◽  
Superficial Similarity ◽  
Independent Parameters

The flight performance and maneuverability of Odonata depends on wing shape and aero-structural characteristics, including airfoil shape, wingspan, and chord. Despite the superficial similarity between Odonata planforms, the frequency with which they are portrayed artistically, and the research interest in their aerodynamics, those features that are stable and those that are labile between species have not been identified. Studies have been done on 2D aerodynamics over corrugated wings; however, there is limited comparative quantified data on the planforms of Odonata wings. This study was undertaken to explore the scale relationships between the geometrical parameters of photogrammetrically reconstructed wings of 75 Odonata species, 66 from Epiprocta, and 9 from Zygoptera. The wing semi-spans captured in the database range from 24 to 85 mm. By carrying out an extensive statistical analysis of data, we show that the geometrical parameters for the suborder Epiprocta (dragonflies) can be classified into scale-dependent and independent parameters using regression analysis. A number of close correlations were found between the wingspan and the size of other structures. We found that amongst the variables considered, the largest independent variations against the forewing span were found in the chord of the hindwing, and that hindwing properties were not reliably predicted by the Odonata family. We suggest that this indicates continuous evolutionary pressure on this structure.

scholarly journals Airplane tracking documents the fastest flight speeds recorded for bats

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 160398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary F. McCracken ◽  
Kamran Safi ◽  
Thomas H. Kunz ◽  
Dina K. N. Dechmann ◽  
Sharon M. Swartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flight Dynamics ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Tadarida Brasiliensis ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Physiological Constraints ◽  
Evolutionary Innovation ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Wind Support

The performance capabilities of flying animals reflect the interplay of biomechanical and physiological constraints and evolutionary innovation. Of the two extant groups of vertebrates that are capable of powered flight, birds are thought to fly more efficiently and faster than bats. However, fast-flying bat species that are adapted for flight in open airspace are similar in wing shape and appear to be similar in flight dynamics to fast-flying birds that exploit the same aerial niche. Here, we investigate flight behaviour in seven free-flying Brazilian free-tailed bats ( Tadarida brasiliensis ) and report that the maximum ground speeds achieved exceed speeds previously documented for any bat. Regional wind modelling indicates that bats adjusted flight speeds in response to winds by flying more slowly as wind support increased and flying faster when confronted with crosswinds, as demonstrated for insects, birds and other bats. Increased frequency of pauses in wing beats at faster speeds suggests that flap-gliding assists the bats' rapid flight. Our results suggest that flight performance in bats has been underappreciated and that functional differences in the flight abilities of birds and bats require re-evaluation.

scholarly journals Effects of natural wing damage on flight performance in Morpho butterflies: what can it tell us about wing shape evolution?

2019 ◽  
Vol 222 (16) ◽  
pp. jeb204057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Le Roy ◽  
Raphaël Cornette ◽  
Violaine Llaurens ◽  
Vincent Debat
Keyword(s):  
Wing Shape ◽  
Shape Evolution ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Damage

Wing Shape and Flight Behaviour in Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea): A Preliminary Analysis

1988 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. BETTS ◽  
R. J. WOOTTON
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Kinematic Parameters ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Simulated Field

Representatives of six butterfly species, flying freely in the field or in simulated field conditions, were filmed with a high-speed ciné camera and subjected to kinematic and morphometric analysis. This is the first detailed investigation on an insect performing the varied patterns of ‘natural’ flight. Kinematic parameters in representative sequences of selected flight modes were calculated and compared, and wing shapes were characterized using aspect ratio and non-dimensional moment parameters. The analyses and field observations of these and other butterflies suggest possible correlations between flight performance and wing shape. The behaviour of individual species conforms reasonably well with crude predictions based on aspect ratio, wing loading and wing inertia.

scholarly journals Constraints on the wing morphology of pterosaurs

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1731) ◽  
pp. 1218-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Palmer ◽  
Gareth Dyke
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Single Parameter ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Flight Stability ◽  
Do So

Animals that fly must be able to do so over a huge range of aerodynamic conditions, determined by weather, wind speed and the nature of their environment. No single parameter can be used to determine—let alone measure—optimum flight performance as it relates to wing shape. Reconstructing the wings of the extinct pterosaurs has therefore proved especially problematic: these Mesozoic flying reptiles had a soft-tissue membranous flight surface that is rarely preserved in the fossil record. Here, we review basic mechanical and aerodynamic constraints that influenced the wing shape of pterosaurs, and, building on this, present a series of theoretical modelling results. These results allow us to predict the most likely wing shapes that could have been employed by these ancient reptiles, and further show that a combination of anterior sweep and a reflexed proximal wing section provides an aerodynamically balanced and efficient theoretical pterosaur wing shape, with clear benefits for their flight stability.

Metabolic engineering of CHO cells to prepare glycoproteins

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiong Wang ◽  
Michael J. Betenbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Engineering ◽  
Cho Cells ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Post Translational Modification ◽  
Effector Functions ◽  
Recombinant Glycoproteins ◽  
Production Platform ◽  
Chemical Inhibitors ◽  
Amino Acid Mutations

As a complex and common post-translational modification, N-linked glycosylation affects a recombinant glycoprotein's biological activity and efficacy. For example, the α1,6-fucosylation significantly affects antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and α2,6-sialylation is critical for antibody anti-inflammatory activity. Terminal sialylation is important for a glycoprotein's circulatory half-life. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are currently the predominant recombinant protein production platform, and, in this review, the characteristics of CHO glycosylation are summarized. Moreover, recent and current metabolic engineering strategies for tailoring glycoprotein fucosylation and sialylation in CHO cells, intensely investigated in the past decades, are described. One approach for reducing α1,6-fucosylation is through inhibiting fucosyltransferase (FUT8) expression by knockdown and knockout methods. Another approach to modulate fucosylation is through inhibition of multiple genes in the fucosylation biosynthesis pathway or through chemical inhibitors. To modulate antibody sialylation of the fragment crystallizable region, expressions of sialyltransferase and galactotransferase individually or together with amino acid mutations can affect antibody glycoforms and further influence antibody effector functions. The inhibition of sialidase expression and chemical supplementations are also effective and complementary approaches to improve the sialylation levels on recombinant glycoproteins. The engineering of CHO cells or protein sequence to control glycoforms to produce more homogenous glycans is an emerging topic. For modulating the glycosylation metabolic pathways, the interplay of multiple glyco-gene knockouts and knockins and the combination of multiple approaches, including genetic manipulation, protein engineering and chemical supplementation, are detailed in order to achieve specific glycan profiles on recombinant glycoproteins for superior biological function and effectiveness.

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