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Chiba Y, Yosano S, Hori M. Chemosensory input from mouthparts in response to sexually dimorphic cuticular wax mediates male sexual discrimination in Galerucella grisescens (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Sci Rep 2023; 13:21754. [PMID: 38066196 PMCID: PMC10709455 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49272-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The surface of the insect body is covered with a hydrophobic layer called cuticular wax (CW). In addition to functioning as an anti-desiccation agent, CW is critical for chemical communication. It has been reported that in Chrysomelidae, males discriminate between sexes based on the sex-specific CW. However, little is known regarding the underlying sensory basis. Herein, we demonstrate that chemosensory input from mouthparts mediates sexual discrimination in male Galerucella grisescens (Chrysomelidae). Observations of mating behaviour, bioassays for CW, and chemical analyses revealed that G. grisescens possess qualitatively sexually dimorphic CW, and such compositional differences allow males to distinguish between sexes. Using electron microscopy, blocking male chemosensory organs, and electrophysiological experiments, we showed that male mouthparts bear chemosensory sensilla tuned to female CW components, and sensory input from them induces male aedeagal insertion, a common male behavioural response to females. Thus, detecting CW via mouthparts is essential for males to distinguish between sexes, consistent with the fact that males inspect conspecific individuals by licking their body surfaces. To our best knowledge, this is the first report describing the detailed functional roles of mouthparts in sexual discrimination in Coleoptera. We believe that this study will promote further studies on insect chemical communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Chiba
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8572, Japan
| | - Shun Yosano
- Institute for Plant Protection, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8666, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Hori
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8572, Japan.
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Xue HJ, Niu YW, Segraves KA, Nie RE, Hao YJ, Zhang LL, Cheng XC, Zhang XW, Li WZ, Chen RS, Yang XK. The draft genome of the specialist flea beetle Altica viridicyanea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). BMC Genomics 2021; 22:243. [PMID: 33827435 PMCID: PMC8028732 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07558-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Altica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a highly diverse and taxonomically challenging flea beetle genus that has been used to address questions related to host plant specialization, reproductive isolation, and ecological speciation. To further evolutionary studies in this interesting group, here we present a draft genome of a representative specialist, Altica viridicyanea, the first Alticinae genome reported thus far. RESULTS The genome is 864.8 Mb and consists of 4490 scaffolds with a N50 size of 557 kb, which covered 98.6% complete and 0.4% partial insect Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. Repetitive sequences accounted for 62.9% of the assembly, and a total of 17,730 protein-coding gene models and 2462 non-coding RNA models were predicted. To provide insight into host plant specialization of this monophagous species, we examined the key gene families involved in chemosensation, detoxification of plant secondary chemistry, and plant cell wall-degradation. CONCLUSIONS The genome assembled in this work provides an important resource for further studies on host plant adaptation and functionally affiliated genes. Moreover, this work also opens the way for comparative genomics studies among closely related Altica species, which may provide insight into the molecular evolutionary processes that occur during ecological speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huai-Jun Xue
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Yi-Wei Niu
- Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kari A Segraves
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, 107 College Place, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA
- Archbold Biological Station, 123 Main Drive, Venus, FL, 33960, USA
| | - Rui-E Nie
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Ya-Jing Hao
- Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Li-Li Zhang
- Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xin-Chao Cheng
- Biomarker Technologies Corporation, Floor 8, Shunjie Building, 12 Fuqian Road, Nanfaxin Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, 101300, China
| | - Xue-Wen Zhang
- Biomarker Technologies Corporation, Floor 8, Shunjie Building, 12 Fuqian Road, Nanfaxin Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, 101300, China
| | - Wen-Zhu Li
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Run-Sheng Chen
- Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Xing-Ke Yang
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
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Wang Y, Zong L, Zhang XY, Ge SQ, Segraves KA, Xue HJ. 3D-printed insect models offer a feasible method for mating studies of chrysomelid beetles. CHEMOECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00049-021-00345-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Xue HJ, Segraves KA, Wei J, Zhang B, Nie RE, Li WZ, Yang XK. Chemically mediated sexual signals restrict hybrid speciation in a flea beetle. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Huai-Jun Xue
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kari A Segraves
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
- Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, USA
| | - Jing Wei
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rui-E Nie
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wen-Zhu Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xing-Ke Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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