materiały: Resilin

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Resilin is an elastomeric protein found in many insects and other arthropods. It provides soft rubber-elasticity to mechanically active organs and tissue; for example, it enables insects of many species to jump or pivot their wings efficiently. Resilin was first discovered by Torkel Weis-Fogh in locust wing-hinges. Resilin is currently the most efficient elastic protein known (Elvin et al., 2005). The elastic efficiency of the resilin isolated from locust tendon has been reported to be 97% (only 3% of stored energy is lost as heat). It does not have any regular structure but its randomly coiled chains are crosslinked by di- and tri-tyrosine links at the right spacing to confer the elasticit…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 92

Levels of elastic resilin modulate leg stiffness but not elasticity in <i>Drosophila</i>.. Resilin is a highly effective elastic component of the insect cuticle, saving energy, providing flexibility, and protecting chitinous structures against structural damage. In the locomotor system of Drosophila , the protein occurs patchy at various locations of the leg. Here, we genetically enhanced and also eliminated resilin by 34% and -69%, respectively, in the long tendon of Drosophila and quantified leg stiffness and elasticity in a work-loop-based biomechanical testing assay during leg movement. Resilin content little alters leg articulation and posture angles during force loading, w…

Evidence: 29 • authority: 88

Development and deposition of resilin in energy stores for locust jumping. Locusts jump by using a catapult mechanism in which energy produced by slow contractions of the extensor tibiae muscles of the hind legs is stored in distortions of the exoskeleton, most notably 1) the two semi-lunar processes at each knee joint and 2) the tendons of the extensor muscles themselves. The energy is then suddenly released from these two stores to power the rapid, propulsive movements of the hind legs. The reliance on the mechanical storage of energy is likely to impact on jumping because growth occurs by a series of five moults, at each of which the exoskeleton is replaced by a new one. All developmenta…

Evidence: — • authority: 92

RNAi of the elastomeric protein resilin reduces jump velocity and resilience to damage in locusts.. Resilin, an elastomeric protein with remarkable physical properties that outperforms synthetic rubbers, is a near-ubiquitous feature of the power amplification mechanisms used by jumping insects. Catapult-like mechanisms, which incorporate elastic energy stores formed from a composite of stiff cuticle and resilin, are frequently used by insects to translate slow muscle contractions into rapid-release recoil movements. The precise role of resilin in these jumping mechanisms remains unclear, however. We used RNAi to reduce resilin deposition in the principal energy-storing springs of the desert…