Nature's Versatile Engine Insect Flight Muscle Inside and Out

About this book

This first edition book integrates knowledge from all disciplines that study muscle function, from single molecule biophysics to flight aerodynamics. Nature's Versatile Engine, is an expose of up-to-date advances in muscle research from the molecular to the organismal, covering all levels of biological organization. While the main emphasis is on Drosophila melanogaster (as it is the organism most widely studied), other species of flying insects are also covered. Because of its multidisciplinary nature, the book should appeal to just about anyone with an interest in muscle biology or insect flight.

Contents

A naturalist?s view of insect flight muscle.- Biology of muscle contractility.- Flight muscle mechanics and stretch activation.- Genetics of Drosophila flight muscle function.- Ultrastructure of crossbridge patterns in Lethocerus.- Comparative physiology of insect flight muscle.- Myosin.- Paramyosin.- Novel myosin associated proteins.- Thick filament structure.- Actin and arthrin.- Troponin, tropomyosin and GST-2.- Thin filiament structure.- Z Bands and transverse cytoskeletal networks.- Connecting filament structure and mechanics.- Projectin.- Titin and kettin.- Association of metabolic enzymes with the myofibril.- Muscles in action: x-ray diffraction live!.- Muscle systems design and integration.- Biochemical mechanics of insect flight and vertebrate cardiac muscle.- Molecular assays for actomyosin interactions.- Isoform variations and flight performance.- Data mining and comparative genomics.- Mutational proteomics.

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