Diverse Discoveries – Thailand's 'Synchrotron' Unlocks the Secrets of Scorpion Legs
International researchers used Thailand's Siam Photon Source synchrotron to examine scorpion leg structures, uncovering how insects perceive movement and sound through specialized sensory organs in their legs.
International researchers have used synchrotron light from the Siam Photon Source in Nakhon Ratchasima to examine the internal structures of scorpion legs, seeking to understand how insects perceive movement through specialized organs related to hearing, motion, and reproduction.
This work reflects Thailand's position as a nation with world-class advanced scientific infrastructure ready to support international research and enable new scientific discoveries.
According to the Synchrotron Light Research Institute, synchrotron light is a unique type of electromagnetic radiation with extraordinary properties. It is approximately one million times brighter than sunlight, produces beams as small as micrometers (one millionth of a meter), and spans four wavelength ranges including infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, and X-rays.
Thailand operates the largest synchrotron light source in Southeast Asia. An international research team from Thailand, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States studied scorpion leg samples using synchrotron light techniques at the Synchrotron Light Research Institute in Nakhon Ratchasima province, employing high-resolution X-ray tomography to create detailed three-dimensional images.
Dr. Atitep Chaiysitti, a researcher from the University of Leicester and visiting scholar at Mahidol University's Center for Vector and Vector-Borne Disease Research, leads the project funded by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). The research team used synchrotron imaging to study the Femoral Chordotonal Organ (FeCO)—a mechanoreceptor organ that insects use to perceive stimuli related to hearing, movement, and reproduction.
"Our team shares a common interest in mechanical perception in insects, particularly how mechanical stimuli are converted into electrical nerve signals," Dr. Atitep explained. "Chordotonal organs contain nerve cells with dendrites arranged in line-like patterns. The hypothesis is that these organs are stimulated when dendrites receive mechanical stretch. We're investigating how such a simple mechanism enables the organ to perform diverse functions ranging from hearing to cellular-level stretch detection."
The research aims to understand how scorpions perceive the degree of leg flexion through the FeCO organ.
