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Van Eeckhoven J, Duncan EJ. Mating status and the evolution of eusociality: Oogenesis is independent of mating status in the solitary bee Osmia bicornis. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 121:104003. [PMID: 31883996 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.104003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The fundamental trait underlying eusociality is the reproductive division of labour. In honeybees (Apis mellifera), queens lay eggs while workers forage, defend and care for brood. The division of labour is maintained by pheromones including queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) produced by the queen. QMP constrains reproduction in adult honeybee workers, but in the absence of their queen workers can activate their ovaries and, although they cannot mate, they lay haploid male eggs. The reproductive ground plan hypothesis suggests that reproductive constraint may have evolved by co-opting mechanisms of reproductive control in solitary ancestors. In many insects mating is required to activate or accelerate oogenesis. Here, we use the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (Megachilidae) to test whether reproductive constraint evolved from ancestral control of reproduction by mating status. We present a structural study of the O. bicornis ovary, and compare key stages of oogenesis with honeybee workers. Importantly, we show that mating does not affect any aspect of the reproductive physiology of O. bicornis. We therefore conclude that mechanisms governing reproductive constraint in honeybees were unlikely to have been co-opted from mechanisms pertaining to mating status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Van Eeckhoven
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth J Duncan
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
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Evidence for a transcellular route for vitellogenin transport in the telotrophic ovary of Podisus nigrispinus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Sci Rep 2019; 9:16441. [PMID: 31712640 PMCID: PMC6848487 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52789-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Vitellogenin is the main yolk precursor protein in insect oocytes. It is synthesized in the fat body and released into the hemolymph. To reach the oocyte surface, vitellogenin must cross a single layer of follicular epithelium cells. The transport of vitellogenin across the follicular epithelium has been suggested to occur through the enlarged intercellular spaces (patency) by a paracellular route or by endocytosis by follicular cells and release onto oocyte surface in a transcelluar route. In this study, we investigated whether vitellogenin transport in the meroistic telotrophic ovary of Podisus nigrispinus (Hemiptera) occurs via a paracellular or transcellular route. Light and transmission electron microscopies showed that short cell–cell contacts with well-developed occluding septate junctions were present in follicular cells with patency. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed the presence of vitellogenin receptors in the plasma membrane and of vitellogenin in the cytoplasm of follicular cells. Data suggest that cell–cell contacts serve as a barrier to large vitellogenin molecules and that this protein is transported via a transcellular route of receptor-mediated endocytosis.
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Veiga JC, Menezes C, Contrera FAL. Insights into the role of age and social interactions on the sexual attractiveness of queens in an eusocial bee, Melipona flavolineata (Apidae, Meliponini). Naturwissenschaften 2017; 104:31. [PMID: 28299419 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-017-1450-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Revised: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The attraction of sexual partners is a vital necessity among insects, and it involves conflict of interests and complex communication systems among male and female. In this study, we investigated the developing of sexual attractiveness in virgin queens (i.e., gynes) of Melipona flavolineata, an eusocial stingless bee. We followed the development of sexual attractiveness in 64 gynes, belonging to seven age classes (0, 3, 6, 9, 15, 18 days post-emergence), and we also evaluated the effect of different social interactions (such as competition between queens and interactions with workers) on the development of attractiveness in other 60 gynes. We used the number of males that tried to mate with a focal gyne as a representative variable of its sexual attractiveness. During the essays, each gyne was individually presented to 10 sexually mature males, and during 3 min, we counted the number of males that everted their genitalia in response to the presence of a gyne. Here, we show that M. flavolineata gynes are capable to (i) maintain their sexual attractiveness for long periods through adult life, (ii) they need a minimum social interaction to trigger the development of sexual attractiveness, and (iii) that gynes express this trait only within a social context. We conclude that the effective occurrence of matings is conditional on potential social interactions that gynes experienced before taking the nuptial flight, when they are still in the nest. These findings bring insights into the factors determining reproductive success in social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamille Costa Veiga
- Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Abelhas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa 01, Campus Básico, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil.
| | - Cristiano Menezes
- Laboratório de Botânica, Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Travessa Enéas Pinheiro, s/n; PO. 18, Belém, Pará, 66095-100, Brazil
| | - Felipe Andrés León Contrera
- Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Abelhas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa 01, Campus Básico, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil
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Ronnau M, Azevedo DO, Fialho MDCQ, Gonçlaves WG, Zanuncio JC, Serrão JE. Changes in follicular cells architecture during vitellogenin transport in the ovary of social Hymenoptera. PROTOPLASMA 2016; 253:815-820. [PMID: 26077636 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-015-0843-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Vitellogenins are the major yolk proteins, synthesized in the fat body, released into the hemolymph and captured by the developing oocytes, but the mechanisms by which these proteins cross the follicular cell layer are still poorly understood. This study describes the actin distribution in follicular cells during vitellogenin transport to the oocyte in social Hymenoptera represented by bees Apis mellifera and Melipona quadrifasciata, the wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga and the ant Pachycondyla curvinodis. In oocytic chambers of vitellogenic follicles, vitellogenin was found within the follicular cells, perivitelline space and oocyte, indicating a transcellular route from the hemolymph to the perivitelline space. The cortical actin cytoskeleton in follicular cells underwent reorganization during transport of vitellogenin across this epithelium suggesting that in the ovary of social hymenopterans, vitellogenin delivery to oocytes requires a dynamic cytoskeletal rearrangement of actin filaments in the follicular cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milton Ronnau
- Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
- Department of Biology, Federal University of Paraná, Palotina, PR, Brazil
| | - Dihego Oliveira Azevedo
- Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
- Federal Insitute of Espírito Santo, Ibatiba, ES, Brazil
| | | | | | - José Cola Zanuncio
- Department of Entomology, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo Serrão
- Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
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Pourian HR, Talaei-Hassanloui R, Ashouri A, Lotfalizadeh HA, Nozari J. Ontogeny and reproductive biology of Diadegma semiclausum (Hym.: Ichneumonidae), a larval endoparasitoid of Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2015; 44:69-76. [PMID: 25463756 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2013] [Revised: 10/25/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In this article, the ontogeny and reproductive biology of Diadegma semiclausum (Hym.: Ichneumonidae), an important parasitoid of Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae) are described in detail. We did dissect parasitized P. xylostella larvae in phosphate-buffered saline and determine the external morphology of its parasitoid at all developmental stages. The developmental duration of its immature stages, adult longevity, total oviposition period and fecundity of the parasitoid are determined at 24 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% R.H., and a photoperiod of 16:8 h L:D. The mean duration of egg and larval stages is 9.56 days and the prepupa and pupa stages last for 8.27 days. In average, female longevity is 1.31 times longer than that of males, and females lay 300 eggs in total. The peak of D. semiclausum oviposition is on the eighth day after mating. The egg loading pattern of D. semiclausum was investigated to determine the parasitoid 'ovigeny index' throughout the female's parasitoid lifetime. Initial egg load in immature females (<2 h age) is 1.45 per female and the mean lifetime potential fecundity (total immature and mature oocytes), at four interval ages, is 34. With an ovigeny index value of 0.038, D. semiclausum is considered moderately to strongly synovigenic. In the absence of the host, after 3 days, the number of eggs is decreased in D. semiclausum. Our results demonstrated that there is a negative relation between the ovigeny index and egg resorption in this parasitoid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid-Reza Pourian
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, PO Box, 4111, Karaj, 31587-11167, Iran
| | - Reza Talaei-Hassanloui
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, PO Box, 4111, Karaj, 31587-11167, Iran.
| | - Ahmad Ashouri
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, PO Box, 4111, Karaj, 31587-11167, Iran
| | - Hossein-Ali Lotfalizadeh
- Department of Plant Protection, East-Azarbaijan Research Centre for Agriculture and Natural Resources, PO Box, 5355179854, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Jamasb Nozari
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, PO Box, 4111, Karaj, 31587-11167, Iran
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Huang F, Zhang JM, Zhang PJ, Lu YB. Reproduction of the solenopsis mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis: males play an important role. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2013; 13:137. [PMID: 24766493 PMCID: PMC4015398 DOI: 10.1673/031.013.13701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2012] [Accepted: 01/11/2013] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The solenopsis mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is an aggressive pest threatening crops worldwide. The biology of P. solenopsis has been described in several studies, but detailed information on the reproduction of P. solenopsis has not been investigated. The results of our study showed: 1) no progeny could be produced by virgins; 2) apoptosis of follicle cells, which occurs when the eggs begin to develop, did not happen in virgins; and 3) oosorption occurred in the unfertilized eggs. This suggests that P. solenopsis is an obligate amphimictic species, and resorption of developed eggs fits the "wait to reproduce" oosorption hypothesis. Compared to females that mated when they were two days old, the females that mated 30 days after eclosion had lower reproductive output and longer adult lifespans, but had higher reproductive output and shorter lifespan than those of the unmated females. Such a phenomenon suggests that resources obtained from eggs can be allocated for survival until conditions for reproduction improve. The results of this study provide evidence for a trade-off between survival and future reproduction: delayed reproductive conditions trigger physiological states geared toward survival at the expense of reproduction. The mating history of the males had no effect on progeny production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Huang
- Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
| | - Jing-Ming Zhang
- Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
| | - Peng-Jun Zhang
- Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
| | - Yao-Bin Lu
- Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
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Serrão JE, Naves AP, Zanuncio JC. Modifications in the oviducts of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with different ages. PROTOPLASMA 2011; 248:767-773. [PMID: 21110051 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-010-0245-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2010] [Accepted: 11/10/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The study of morphological features of highly eusocial bees has helped to answer a series of questions concerning their biology. The labor division places the females into two castes, queen with reproductive function and worker with a wide variety of tasks. However, in different species and under different conditions, workers can develop ovaries and lay trophic eggs that are eaten by the queen or used to originate males. In this work, the development of the oviducts was monitored in workers and virgin queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides specimens of different ages to verify whether there is permanent sterility of these queens and workers due to aging. Lateral and common oviducts of virgin queens aged <7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days old, physogastric queens, nurse, and forager workers were analyzed for histology and ultrastructure. Although the structural organization of the lateral and common oviducts were very similar, differences in width of the cuticle and the degree of chromatin condensation were observed, indicating differences in the development of this organ of the reproductive system between the castes. It was also demonstrated that electron-lucent vesicles appear to be related to the formation of the cuticle that lines the oviducts. Because no cellular death characteristics were found, it can be inferred that the absence of mating of the queens as old as of 25 days of age does not cause permanent sterility.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Eduardo Serrão
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Guo JY, Dong SZ, Ye GY, Li K, Zhu JY, Fang Q, Hu C. Oosorption in the endoparasitoid, Pteromalus puparum. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2011; 11:90. [PMID: 21870987 PMCID: PMC3281430 DOI: 10.1673/031.011.9001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2010] [Accepted: 01/13/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Oosorption is the resorption of oocytes in the ovaries, and is usually induced by environmental stress. It has been demonstrated in some insect species, but overall the mechanisms of oosorption are poorly understood. In this study, the oosorption in the endoparasitic wasp, Pteromalus puparum L. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), was observed in response to starvation. To explore the details of oosorption in P. puparum, both levels of hemolymph vitellogenin and ovarian vitellin were determined using sandwich ELISA. The results indicated that both levels of vitellin and total protein in the ovaries were significantly decreased 48 h after eclosion in starved P. puparum, while those of vitellogenin and total protein in the hemolymph were increased. In addition, observation of the ultrastructure of mature oocytes in the ovarioles revealed changes in yolk protein content. Those protein yolk spheres and lipid yolk spheres that had accumulated in the oocytes, were transferred out of the oocytes of starved females. It was assumed that once oosorption was induced in P. puparum, vitellin in the oocytes was transported outside and released into the hemolymph. This information helps to elucidate a mechanism of oosorption in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-yang Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
| | - Sheng-zhang Dong
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection and Quarantine, College of Life Science, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Gong-yin Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
| | - Kai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
| | - Jia-ying Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
| | - Qi Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
| | - Cui Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China
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Santos CG, Neves CA, Zanuncio JC, Serrão JE. Postembryonic Development of Rectal Pads in Bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2009; 292:1602-11. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.20949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Current World Literature. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 2008; 8:360-3. [DOI: 10.1097/aci.0b013e32830abac8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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