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Kittelmann M, McGregor AP. Looking across the gap: Understanding the evolution of eyes and vision among insects. Bioessays 2024; 46:e2300240. [PMID: 38593308 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
The compound eyes of insects exhibit stunning variation in size, structure, and function, which has allowed these animals to use their vision to adapt to a huge range of different environments and lifestyles, and evolve complex behaviors. Much of our knowledge of eye development has been learned from Drosophila, while visual adaptations and behaviors are often more striking and better understood from studies of other insects. However, recent studies in Drosophila and other insects, including bees, beetles, and butterflies, have begun to address this gap by revealing the genetic and developmental bases of differences in eye morphology and key new aspects of compound eye structure and function. Furthermore, technical advances have facilitated the generation of high-resolution connectomic data from different insect species that enhances our understanding of visual information processing, and the impact of changes in these processes on the evolution of vision and behavior. Here, we review these recent breakthroughs and propose that future integrated research from the development to function of visual systems within and among insect species represents a great opportunity to understand the remarkable diversification of insect eyes and vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maike Kittelmann
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
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2
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Buffry AD, Currea JP, Franke-Gerth FA, Palavalli-Nettimi R, Bodey AJ, Rau C, Samadi N, Gstöhl SJ, Schlepütz CM, McGregor AP, Sumner-Rooney L, Theobald J, Kittelmann M. Evolution of compound eye morphology underlies differences in vision between closely related Drosophila species. BMC Biol 2024; 22:67. [PMID: 38504308 PMCID: PMC10953123 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01864-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Insects have evolved complex visual systems and display an astonishing range of adaptations for diverse ecological niches. Species of Drosophila melanogaster subgroup exhibit extensive intra- and interspecific differences in compound eye size. These differences provide an excellent opportunity to better understand variation in insect eye structure and the impact on vision. Here we further explored the difference in eye size between D. mauritiana and its sibling species D. simulans. RESULTS We confirmed that D. mauritiana have rapidly evolved larger eyes as a result of more and wider ommatidia than D. simulans since they recently diverged approximately 240,000 years ago. The functional impact of eye size, and specifically ommatidia size, is often only estimated based on the rigid surface morphology of the compound eye. Therefore, we used 3D synchrotron radiation tomography to measure optical parameters in 3D, predict optical capacity, and compare the modelled vision to in vivo optomotor responses. Our optical models predicted higher contrast sensitivity for D. mauritiana, which we verified by presenting sinusoidal gratings to tethered flies in a flight arena. Similarly, we confirmed the higher spatial acuity predicted for Drosophila simulans with smaller ommatidia and found evidence for higher temporal resolution. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates that even subtle differences in ommatidia size between closely related Drosophila species can impact the vision of these insects. Therefore, further comparative studies of intra- and interspecific variation in eye morphology and the consequences for vision among other Drosophila species, other dipterans and other insects are needed to better understand compound eye structure-function and how the diversification of eye size, shape, and function has helped insects to adapt to the vast range of ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra D Buffry
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK
| | - John P Currea
- Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Franziska A Franke-Gerth
- Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Animals, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ravindra Palavalli-Nettimi
- Institute of the Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Andrew J Bodey
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK
| | - Christoph Rau
- Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK
| | - Nazanin Samadi
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Stefan J Gstöhl
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Christian M Schlepütz
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Alistair P McGregor
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Lauren Sumner-Rooney
- Museum Für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Jamie Theobald
- Institute of the Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Maike Kittelmann
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK.
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3
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Chakraborty A, Walter GM, Monro K, Alves AN, Mirth CK, Sgrò CM. Within-population variation in body size plasticity in response to combined nutritional and thermal stress is partially independent from variation in development time. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:264-279. [PMID: 36208146 PMCID: PMC10092444 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing climate change has forced animals to face changing thermal and nutritional environments. Animals can adjust to such combinations of stressors via plasticity. Body size is a key trait influencing organismal fitness, and plasticity in this trait in response to nutritional and thermal conditions varies among genetically diverse, locally adapted populations. The standing genetic variation within a population can also influence the extent of body size plasticity. We generated near-isogenic lines from a newly collected population of Drosophila melanogaster at the mid-point of east coast Australia and assayed body size for all lines in combinations of thermal and nutritional stress. We found that isogenic lines showed distinct underlying patterns of body size plasticity in response to temperature and nutrition that were often different from the overall population response. We then tested whether plasticity in development time could explain, and therefore regulate, variation in body size to these combinations of environmental conditions. We selected five genotypes that showed the greatest variation in response to combined thermal and nutritional stress and assessed the correlation between response of developmental time and body size. While we found significant genetic variation in development time plasticity, it was a poor predictor of body size among genotypes. Our results therefore suggest that multiple developmental pathways could generate genetic variation in body size plasticity. Our study emphasizes the need to better understand genetic variation in plasticity within a population, which will help determine the potential for populations to adapt to ongoing environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Greg M Walter
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Keyne Monro
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - André N Alves
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Christen K Mirth
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Carla M Sgrò
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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4
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Tissue dissociation for single-cell and single-nuclei RNA sequencing for low amounts of input material. Front Zool 2022; 19:27. [DOI: 10.1186/s12983-022-00472-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Recent technological advances opened the opportunity to simultaneously study gene expression for thousands of individual cells on a genome-wide scale. The experimental accessibility of such single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) approaches allowed gaining insights into the cell type composition of heterogeneous tissue samples of animal model systems and emerging models alike. A major prerequisite for a successful application of the method is the dissociation of complex tissues into individual cells, which often requires large amounts of input material and harsh mechanical, chemical and temperature conditions. However, the availability of tissue material may be limited for small animals, specific organs, certain developmental stages or if samples need to be acquired from collected specimens. Therefore, we evaluated different dissociation protocols to obtain single cells from small tissue samples of Drosophila melanogaster eye-antennal imaginal discs.
Results
We show that a combination of mechanical and chemical dissociation resulted in sufficient high-quality cells. As an alternative, we tested protocols for the isolation of single nuclei, which turned out to be highly efficient for fresh and frozen tissue samples. Eventually, we performed scRNAseq and single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNAseq) to show that the best protocols for both methods successfully identified relevant cell types. At the same time, snRNAseq resulted in less artificial gene expression that is caused by rather harsh dissociation conditions needed to obtain single cells for scRNAseq. A direct comparison of scRNAseq and snRNAseq data revealed that both datasets share biologically relevant genes among the most variable genes, and we showed differences in the relative contribution of the two approaches to identified cell types.
Conclusion
We present two dissociation protocols that allow isolating single cells and single nuclei, respectively, from low input material. Both protocols resulted in extraction of high-quality RNA for subsequent scRNAseq or snRNAseq applications. If tissue availability is limited, we recommend the snRNAseq procedure of fresh or frozen tissue samples as it is perfectly suited to obtain thorough insights into cellular diversity of complex tissue.
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5
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Buchberger E, Bilen A, Ayaz S, Salamanca D, Matas de las Heras C, Niksic A, Almudi I, Torres-Oliva M, Casares F, Posnien N. Variation in Pleiotropic Hub Gene Expression Is Associated with Interspecific Differences in Head Shape and Eye Size in Drosophila. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:1924-1942. [PMID: 33386848 PMCID: PMC8097299 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Revealing the mechanisms underlying the breathtaking morphological diversity observed in nature is a major challenge in Biology. It has been established that recurrent mutations in hotspot genes cause the repeated evolution of morphological traits, such as body pigmentation or the gain and loss of structures. To date, however, it remains elusive whether hotspot genes contribute to natural variation in the size and shape of organs. As natural variation in head morphology is pervasive in Drosophila, we studied the molecular and developmental basis of differences in compound eye size and head shape in two closely related Drosophila species. We show differences in the progression of retinal differentiation between species and we applied comparative transcriptomics and chromatin accessibility data to identify the GATA transcription factor Pannier (Pnr) as central factor associated with these differences. Although the genetic manipulation of Pnr affected multiple aspects of dorsal head development, the effect of natural variation is restricted to a subset of the phenotypic space. We present data suggesting that this developmental constraint is caused by the coevolution of expression of pnr and its cofactor u-shaped (ush). We propose that natural variation in expression or function of highly connected developmental regulators with pleiotropic functions is a major driver for morphological evolution and we discuss implications on gene regulatory network evolution. In comparison to previous findings, our data strongly suggest that evolutionary hotspots are not the only contributors to the repeated evolution of eye size and head shape in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Buchberger
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anıl Bilen
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sanem Ayaz
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - David Salamanca
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Present address: Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Armin Niksic
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Isabel Almudi
- CABD (CSIC/UPO/JA), DMC2 Unit, Pablo de Olavide University Campus, Seville, Spain
| | - Montserrat Torres-Oliva
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Present address: Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD (CSIC/UPO/JA), DMC2 Unit, Pablo de Olavide University Campus, Seville, Spain
| | - Nico Posnien
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Corresponding author: E-mail:
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6
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Interplay between sex determination cascade and major signaling pathways during Drosophila eye development: Perspectives for future research. Dev Biol 2021; 476:41-52. [PMID: 33745943 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Understanding molecular mechanisms of sexually dimorphic organ growth is a fundamental problem of developmental biology. Recent quantitative studies showed that the Drosophila compound eye is a convenient model to study the determination of the final organ size. In Drosophila, females have larger eyes than males and this is evident even after correction for the larger body size. Moreover, female eyes include more ommatidia (photosensitive units) than male eyes and this difference is specified at the third larval instar in the eye primordia called eye imaginal discs. This may result in different visual capabilities between the two sexes and have behavioral consequences. Despite growing evidence on the genetic bases of eye size variation between different Drosophila species and strains, mechanisms responsible for within-species sexual dimorphism still remain elusive. Here, we discuss a presumptive crosstalk between the sex determination cascade and major signaling pathways during dimorphic eye development. Male- and female-specific isoforms of Doublesex (Dsx) protein are known to control sex-specific differentiation in the somatic tissues. However, no data on Dsx function during eye disc growth and patterning are currently available. Remarkably, Sex lethal (Sxl), the sex determination switch protein, was shown to directly affect Hedgehog (Hh) and Notch (N) signaling in the Drosophila wing disc. The similarity of signaling pathways involved in the wing and eye disc growth suggests that Sxl might be integrated into regulation of eye development. Dsx role in the eye disc requires further investigation. We discuss currently available data on sex-biased gene expression in the Drosophila eye and highlight perspectives for future studies.
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7
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Reis M, Wiegleb G, Claude J, Lata R, Horchler B, Ha NT, Reimer C, Vieira CP, Vieira J, Posnien N. Multiple loci linked to inversions are associated with eye size variation in species of the Drosophila virilis phylad. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12832. [PMID: 32732947 PMCID: PMC7393161 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69719-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The size and shape of organs is tightly controlled to achieve optimal function. Natural morphological variations often represent functional adaptations to an ever-changing environment. For instance, variation in head morphology is pervasive in insects and the underlying molecular basis is starting to be revealed in the Drosophila genus for species of the melanogaster group. However, it remains unclear whether similar diversifications are governed by similar or different molecular mechanisms over longer timescales. To address this issue, we used species of the virilis phylad because they have been diverging from D. melanogaster for at least 40 million years. Our comprehensive morphological survey revealed remarkable differences in eye size and head shape among these species with D. novamexicana having the smallest eyes and southern D. americana populations having the largest eyes. We show that the genetic architecture underlying eye size variation is complex with multiple associated genetic variants located on most chromosomes. Our genome wide association study (GWAS) strongly suggests that some of the putative causative variants are associated with the presence of inversions. Indeed, northern populations of D. americana share derived inversions with D. novamexicana and they show smaller eyes compared to southern ones. Intriguingly, we observed a significant enrichment of genes involved in eye development on the 4th chromosome after intersecting chromosomal regions associated with phenotypic differences with those showing high differentiation among D. americana populations. We propose that variants associated with chromosomal inversions contribute to both intra- and interspecific variation in eye size among species of the virilis phylad.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micael Reis
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University of Goettingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Gordon Wiegleb
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University of Goettingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Genome Science, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julien Claude
- Institut Des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, CNRS/UM2/IRD, 2 Place Eugène Bataillon, cc64, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Rodrigo Lata
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Britta Horchler
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University of Goettingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ngoc-Thuy Ha
- Animal Breeding and Genetics Group, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.,Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Reimer
- Animal Breeding and Genetics Group, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.,Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Cristina P Vieira
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Jorge Vieira
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Nico Posnien
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University of Goettingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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8
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Casares F, McGregor AP. The evolution and development of eye size in flies. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2020; 10:e380. [PMID: 32400100 DOI: 10.1002/wdev.380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The compound eyes of flies exhibit striking variation in size, which has contributed to the adaptation of these animals to different habitats and their evolution of specialist behaviors. These differences in size are caused by differences in the number and/or size of ommatidia, which are specified during the development of the retinal field in the eye imaginal disc. While the genes and developmental mechanisms that regulate the formation of compound eyes are understood in great detail in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, we know very little about the genetic changes and mechanistic alterations that lead to natural variation in ommatidia number and/or size, and thus overall eye size, within and between fly species. Understanding the genetic and developmental bases for this natural variation in eye size not only has great potential to help us understand adaptations in fly vision but also determine how eye size and organ size more generally are regulated. Here we explore the genetic and developmental mechanisms that could underlie natural differences in compound eye size within and among fly species based on our knowledge of eye development in D. melanogaster and the few cases where the causative genes and mechanisms have already been identified. We suggest that the fly eye provides an evolutionary and developmental framework to better understand the regulation and diversification of this crucial sensory organ globally at a systems level as well as the gene regulatory networks and mechanisms acting at the tissue, cellular and molecular levels. This article is categorized under: Establishment of Spatial and Temporal Patterns > Regulation of Size, Proportion, and Timing Invertebrate Organogenesis > Flies Comparative Development and Evolution > Regulation of Organ Diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alistair P McGregor
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
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9
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Abstract
In this issue of Developmental Cell, Ramaekers et al. (2019) show that changes in eyeless/Pax6 expression cause differences in compound eye size within and between Drosophila species. These findings reveal how changes in the underlying gene regulatory network facilitate eye size evolution and provide insights into organ size regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Almudi
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera Km1, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Alistair P McGregor
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
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10
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Characterization of the Genetic Architecture Underlying Eye Size Variation Within Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:1005-1018. [PMID: 31919111 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The compound eyes of insects exhibit striking variation in size, reflecting adaptation to different lifestyles and habitats. However, the genetic and developmental bases of variation in insect eye size is poorly understood, which limits our understanding of how these important morphological differences evolve. To address this, we further explored natural variation in eye size within and between four species of the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup. We found extensive variation in eye size among these species, and flies with larger eyes generally had a shorter inter-ocular distance and vice versa We then carried out quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of intra-specific variation in eye size and inter-ocular distance in both D. melanogaster and D. simulans This revealed that different genomic regions underlie variation in eye size and inter-ocular distance in both species, which we corroborated by introgression mapping in D. simulans This suggests that although there is a trade-off between eye size and inter-ocular distance, variation in these two traits is likely to be caused by different genes and so can be genetically decoupled. Finally, although we detected QTL for intra-specific variation in eye size at similar positions in D. melanogaster and D. simulans, we observed differences in eye fate commitment between strains of these two species. This indicates that different developmental mechanisms and therefore, most likely, different genes contribute to eye size variation in these species. Taken together with the results of previous studies, our findings suggest that the gene regulatory network that specifies eye size has evolved at multiple genetic nodes to give rise to natural variation in this trait within and among species.
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11
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Ramaekers A, Claeys A, Kapun M, Mouchel-Vielh E, Potier D, Weinberger S, Grillenzoni N, Dardalhon-Cuménal D, Yan J, Wolf R, Flatt T, Buchner E, Hassan BA. Altering the Temporal Regulation of One Transcription Factor Drives Evolutionary Trade-Offs between Head Sensory Organs. Dev Cell 2019; 50:780-792.e7. [PMID: 31447264 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2019.07.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Size trade-offs of visual versus olfactory organs is a pervasive feature of animal evolution. This could result from genetic or functional constraints. We demonstrate that head sensory organ size trade-offs in Drosophila are genetically encoded and arise through differential subdivision of the head primordium into visual versus non-visual fields. We discover that changes in the temporal regulation of the highly conserved eyeless/Pax6 gene expression during development is a conserved mechanism for sensory trade-offs within and between Drosophila species. We identify a natural single nucleotide polymorphism in the cis-regulatory region of eyeless in a binding site of its repressor Cut that is sufficient to alter its temporal regulation and eye size. Because eyeless/Pax6 is a conserved regulator of head sensory placode subdivision, we propose that its temporal regulation is key to define the relative size of head sensory organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Ramaekers
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM) - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, France.
| | - Annelies Claeys
- VIB Center for Brain and Disease, VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Human Genetics, University of Leuven School of Medicine, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martin Kapun
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuèle Mouchel-Vielh
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, LBD-IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Delphine Potier
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, INSERM, CIML, Marseille, France
| | - Simon Weinberger
- VIB Center for Brain and Disease, VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Human Genetics, University of Leuven School of Medicine, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicola Grillenzoni
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM) - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Delphine Dardalhon-Cuménal
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, LBD-IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Jiekun Yan
- VIB Center for Brain and Disease, VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Human Genetics, University of Leuven School of Medicine, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Reinhard Wolf
- Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Flatt
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Erich Buchner
- Institute for Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Bassem A Hassan
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM) - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, France.
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12
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Lafuente E, Duneau D, Beldade P. Genetic basis of thermal plasticity variation in Drosophila melanogaster body size. PLoS Genet 2018; 14:e1007686. [PMID: 30256798 PMCID: PMC6175520 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size is a quantitative trait that is closely associated to fitness and under the control of both genetic and environmental factors. While developmental plasticity for this and other traits is heritable and under selection, little is known about the genetic basis for variation in plasticity that can provide the raw material for its evolution. We quantified genetic variation for body size plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster by measuring thorax and abdomen length of females reared at two temperatures from a panel representing naturally segregating alleles, the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). We found variation between genotypes for the levels and direction of thermal plasticity in size of both body parts. We then used a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) approach to unravel the genetic basis of inter-genotype variation in body size plasticity, and used different approaches to validate selected QTLs and to explore potential pleiotropic effects. We found mostly “private QTLs”, with little overlap between the candidate loci underlying variation in plasticity for thorax versus abdomen size, for different properties of the plastic response, and for size versus size plasticity. We also found that the putative functions of plasticity QTLs were diverse and that alleles for higher plasticity were found at lower frequencies in the target population. Importantly, a number of our plasticity QTLs have been targets of selection in other populations. Our data sheds light onto the genetic basis of inter-genotype variation in size plasticity that is necessary for its evolution. Environmental conditions can influence development and lead to the production of phenotypes adjusted to the conditions adults will live in. This developmental plasticity, which can help organisms cope with environmental heterogeneity, is heritable and under selection. Its evolution will depend on available genetic variation. Using a panel of D. melanogaster flies representing naturally segregating alleles, we identified DNA sequence variants associated to variation in thermal plasticity for body size. We found that these variants correspond to a diverse set of functions and that their effects differ between body parts and properties of the thermal response. Our results shed new light onto the long discussed genes for plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvira Lafuente
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- * E-mail: (EL); (PB)
| | - David Duneau
- UMR5174-CNRS, Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Patrícia Beldade
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- UMR5174-CNRS, Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
- * E-mail: (EL); (PB)
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