The Claim

In Drosophila indirect flight muscle myofibrils, the number of thick filaments increases from 23 at 36 hours after puparium formation to 846 in adults, with a sharp rise between 48 and 72 hours APF, while the center-to-center spacing between thick filaments decreases from 53 nm to 46–48 nm and remains stable thereafter, indicating that radial growth involves both filament addition and lattice compaction.

Source: A myofilament lattice model of Drosophila flight muscle sarcomeres based on multiscale morphometric analysis during development

What the research says

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Supports
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Description
1 study reviewed
In plain English

In fruit fly flight muscles, the number of thick filaments grows from 23 to 846 during development, with most addition occurring between 48 and 72 hours after pupation, while the distance between filaments shrinks from 53 nm to 46–48 nm and stabilizes, showing that muscle thickening results from adding more filaments and packing them closer together.

See the scientific wording

The number of thick filaments in Drosophila indirect flight muscle myofibrils increases from 23 at 36 hours after puparium formation to 846 in adults, with a sharp rise occurring between 48 and 72 hours APF, while the center-to-center spacing between thick filaments decreases from 53 nm to 46–48 nm and remains stable thereafter, indicating that radial growth involves both filament addition and lattice compaction.

Why this might work

As the fly's flight muscle develops, new myosin protein filaments are added to the outer edges of the muscle fibers, increasing their total number. At the same time, these filaments pack closer together in a tightly ordered hexagonal pattern, reducing the space between them until they reach a stable, dense arrangement.

Verified mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: A myofilament lattice model of Drosophila flight muscle sarcomeres based on multiscale morphometric analysis during development

    Scientists counted the tiny protein filaments in fly flight muscles as they grew up and found that the number jumped from 23 to over 800, while the filaments got packed tighter—from 53 nanometers apart to 46–48 nanometers—just like the claim says.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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