Evolutionary origins of the gekkotan adhesive system

生物进化是一个由环境驱动的相互作用的过程，生物体适应强加的变化。 进化生物学家的任务是记录环境如何以及以何种方式挑战生物体适应环境。 生物体与环境之间密切而易处理的关系的一个例子是动物运动中脚与基底之间的接触。 这种相互作用可以在从宏观到纳米尺度的各个层次上进行探索。 壁虎（通常统称为壁虎）以其高度发达的粘合系统而闻名，该系统使它们能够轻松地缩放表面，如玻璃。 粘合的极端强度，其反复连接和分离而不磨损或丧失能力的能力，以及其易于接合和脱离的能力，是需要更深入理解的关键因素。 突破性的研究技术使我们能够更好地了解这些粘合剂的功能是如何运作的，并导致了大规模的尝试，以模拟这些相互作用的综合，为应用程序，可能有利于人类的开发。 壁虎是一个多样化的群体，由1000多个物种组成，其中大约一半缺乏或只有非常基本的粘合系统。 这些“非粘性”物种提供了研究壁虎高度复杂的粘附系统是如何产生的，以及在什么环境下被选择的途径。 对这种现象的演变进行调查是有用的，因为它既可以直接评估生物体与其环境之间的相互作用（“橡胶撞上道路”），也可以提供如何最好地模仿系统的见解。 盖柯人在至少5400万年前的几个（多达10个）场合中详细阐述了他们的粘合剂系统。 这些不同谱系的设计相似程度允许评估什么是必要的和足够的这样一个系统的操作。 该研究计划的重点是探索系统的基本计划，并研究如何模拟其结构和功能特性。

Organismic evolution is an interactive process driven by the environment, with organisms adjusting to imposed change. The task of the evolutionary biologist is to document how, and in what ways, the environment challenges the organism to adapt. One example of an intimate and tractable relationship between organisms and environment is evident in the contact between feet and the substrate in animal locomotion. Such an interaction can be explored at various levels, from the macro to the nano scale. Gekkotan lizards (commonly collectively referred to as geckos) are well known for their highly developed adhesive system that permits them to scale surfaces such as glass with seeming ease. The extreme strength of the bond, its ability to attach and detach repeatedly without wear or loss of capability, and its ease of engagement and disengagement, are critical factors that require deeper understanding. Breakthroughs in investigative techniques have enabled us to obtain a better understanding of how these adhesive capabilities operate, and have led to broad-scale attempts to mimic these interactions synthetically, for applications that might benefit human exploitation. Geckos are a diverse group, consisting of over 1000 species, about half of which either lack or possess only a very rudimentary adhesive system. These "non adhesive" species provide avenues to investigate how the highly complex adhesive system of geckos arose, and under what environmental circumstances it was selected for. Investigation of the evolution of such a phenomenon is useful because it both permits a direct appraisal of interaction between the organism and its environment (where the "rubber hits the road"), and will provides insights into how best to mimic the system. Gekkos have elaborated their adhesive system on several (as many as 10) occasions beginning at least 54 million years ago. The degree of similarity of design in these various lineages allows assessment of what is necessary and sufficient for the operation of such a system. The thrust of this research program explores the fundamental plan of the system and investigates how we can mimic its structural and functional properties.