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Sellamuthu G, Naseer A, Hradecký J, Chakraborty A, Synek J, Modlinger R, Roy A. Gene expression plasticity facilitates different host feeding in Ips sexdentatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae). INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 165:104061. [PMID: 38151136 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.104061] [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: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Host shift is ecologically advantageous and a crucial driver for herbivore insect speciation. Insects on the non-native host obtain enemy-free space and confront reduced competition, but they must adapt to survive. Such signatures of adaptations can often be detected at the gene expression level. It is astonishing how bark beetles cope with distinct chemical environments while feeding on various conifers. Hence, we aim to disentangle the six-toothed bark beetle (Ips sexdentatus) response against two different conifer defences upon host shift (Scots pine to Norway spruce). We conducted bioassay and metabolomic analysis followed by RNA-seq experiments to comprehend the beetle's ability to surpass two different terpene-based conifer defence systems. Beetle growth rate and fecundity were increased when reared exclusively on spruce logs (alternative host) compared to pine logs (native host). Comparative gene expression analysis identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to digestion, detoxification, transporter activity, growth, signalling, and stress response in the spruce-feeding beetle gut. Transporter genes were highly abundant during spruce feeding, suggesting they could play a role in pumping a wide variety of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds or allelochemicals out. Trehalose transporter (TRET) is also up-regulated in the spruce-fed beetle gut to maintain homeostasis and stress tolerance. RT-qPCR and enzymatic assays further corroborated some of our findings. Taken together, the transcriptional plasticity of key physiological genes plays a crucial role after the host shift and provides vital clues for the adaptive potential of bark beetles on different conifer hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gothandapani Sellamuthu
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Molecular Entomology Lab, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Aisha Naseer
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Molecular Entomology Lab, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Jaromír Hradecký
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Amrita Chakraborty
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Molecular Entomology Lab, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Microbiome Team, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Synek
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Modlinger
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
| | - Amit Roy
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Molecular Entomology Lab, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Excellent Team for Mitigation (ETM), Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Forest Microbiome Team, Faculty of Forestry & Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic.
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2
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Cicconardi F, Milanetti E, Pinheiro de Castro EC, Mazo-Vargas A, Van Belleghem SM, Ruggieri AA, Rastas P, Hanly J, Evans E, Jiggins CD, Owen McMillan W, Papa R, Di Marino D, Martin A, Montgomery SH. Evolutionary dynamics of genome size and content during the adaptive radiation of Heliconiini butterflies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5620. [PMID: 37699868 PMCID: PMC10497600 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41412-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Heliconius butterflies, a speciose genus of Müllerian mimics, represent a classic example of an adaptive radiation that includes a range of derived dietary, life history, physiological and neural traits. However, key lineages within the genus, and across the broader Heliconiini tribe, lack genomic resources, limiting our understanding of how adaptive and neutral processes shaped genome evolution during their radiation. Here, we generate highly contiguous genome assemblies for nine Heliconiini, 29 additional reference-assembled genomes, and improve 10 existing assemblies. Altogether, we provide a dataset of annotated genomes for a total of 63 species, including 58 species within the Heliconiini tribe. We use this extensive dataset to generate a robust and dated heliconiine phylogeny, describe major patterns of introgression, explore the evolution of genome architecture, and the genomic basis of key innovations in this enigmatic group, including an assessment of the evolution of putative regulatory regions at the Heliconius stem. Our work illustrates how the increased resolution provided by such dense genomic sampling improves our power to generate and test gene-phenotype hypotheses, and precisely characterize how genomes evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Cicconardi
- School of Biological Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom.
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Edoardo Milanetti
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Anyi Mazo-Vargas
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Steven M Van Belleghem
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, Puerto Rico
- Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Biology Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Pasi Rastas
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Joseph Hanly
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington DC, WA, 20052, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Elizabeth Evans
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, Puerto Rico
| | - Chris D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - W Owen McMillan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Riccardo Papa
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, Puerto Rico
- Molecular Sciences and Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, Puerto Rico
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, Puerto Rico
| | - Daniele Di Marino
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, New York-Marche Structural Biology Center (NY-MaSBiC), Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy
- Neuronal Death and Neuroprotection Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research-IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milano, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, Italy
| | - Arnaud Martin
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington DC, WA, 20052, USA
| | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
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“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d15010027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Lepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (usually caterpillars) nor the one that lasts the longest (very often chrysalises). These two stages are often directly related to litter and soil, although only the interaction at the pupal stage seems to follow a phylogenetic logic with two independent evolutionary events for the preference with soil: Use of litter and the upper “O” horizon as protection against predation for the evolutionarily oldest Lepidoptera families, pupation at greater depths (up to 60 centimetres in extreme cases) for the most derived Lepidoptera families; this probably to take advantage of the thermal and moisture buffer provided by the soil. An estimate suggests that about 25% of lepidopteran species worldwide have more or less obligatory interactions with soil.
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Singh P, Grone N, Tewes LJ, Müller C. Chemical defense acquired via pharmacophagy can lead to protection from predation for conspecifics in a sawfly. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220176. [PMID: 35858054 PMCID: PMC9257289 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemical defense is a widespread anti-predator strategy exhibited by organisms, with individuals either synthesizing or extrinsically acquiring defensive chemicals. In some species, such defences can also be transferred among conspecifics. Here, we tested the effects of pharmacophagy on the defense capability of the turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae, which can acquire neo-clerodane diterpenoids (clerodanoids) via pharmacophagy when having access to the plant Ajuga reptans. We show that clerodanoid access mediates protection against predation by mantids for the sawflies, both in a no-choice feeding assay and a microcosm setup. Even indirect access to clerodanoids, via nibbling on conspecifics that had access to the plant, resulted in protection against predation albeit to a lower degree than direct access. Furthermore, sawflies that had no direct access to clerodanoids were consumed less frequently by mantids when they were grouped with conspecifics that had direct access. Most, but not all, of such initially undefended sawflies could acquire clerodanoids from conspecifics that had direct access to the plant, although in low quantities. Together our results demonstrate that clerodanoids serve as a chemical defense that can also be transferred by interactions among conspecifics. Moreover, the presence of chemically defended individuals in a group can confer protection onto conspecifics that had no direct access to clerodanoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pragya Singh
- Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Neil Grone
- Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Lisa Johanna Tewes
- Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Caroline Müller
- Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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Mattila ALK, Jiggins CD, Saastamoinen M. Condition dependence in biosynthesized chemical defenses of an aposematic and mimetic
Heliconius
butterfly. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9041. [PMID: 35784031 PMCID: PMC9227709 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Aposematic animals advertise their toxicity or unpalatability with bright warning coloration. However, acquiring and maintaining chemical defenses can be energetically costly, and consequent associations with other important traits could shape chemical defense evolution. Here, we have tested whether chemical defenses are involved in energetic trade‐offs with other traits, or whether the levels of chemical defenses are condition dependent, by studying associations between biosynthesized cyanogenic toxicity and a suite of key life‐history and fitness traits in a Heliconius butterfly under a controlled laboratory setting. Heliconius butterflies are well known for the diversity of their warning color patterns and widespread mimicry and can both sequester the cyanogenic glucosides of their Passiflora host plants and biosynthesize these toxins de novo. We find energetically costly life‐history traits to be either unassociated or to show a general positive association with biosynthesized cyanogenic toxicity. More toxic individuals developed faster and had higher mass as adults and a tendency for increased lifespan and fecundity. These results thus indicate that toxicity level of adult butterflies may be dependent on individual condition, influenced by genetic background or earlier conditions, with maternal effects as one strong candidate mechanism. Additionally, toxicity was higher in older individuals, consistent with previous studies indicating accumulation of toxins with age. As toxicity level at death was independent of lifespan, cyanogenic glucoside compounds may have been recycled to release resources relevant for longevity in these long‐living butterflies. Understanding the origins and maintenance of variation in defenses is necessary in building a more complete picture of factors shaping the evolution of aposematic and mimetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anniina L. K. Mattila
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- HiLIFE – Helsinki Institute of Life Science University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS) University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | | | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- HiLIFE – Helsinki Institute of Life Science University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
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Ogilvie JG, Van Belleghem S, Range R, Papa R, McMillan OW, Chouteau M, Counterman BA. Balanced polymorphisms and their divergence in a Heliconius butterfly. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18319-18330. [PMID: 35003675 PMCID: PMC8717333 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of mimicry in similarly defended prey is well described by the Müllerian mimicry theory, which predicts the convergence of warning patterns in order to gain the most protection from predators. However, despite this prediction, we can find great diversity of color patterns among Müllerian mimics such as Heliconius butterflies in the neotropics. Furthermore, some species have evolved the ability to maintain multiple distinct warning patterns in single populations, a phenomenon known as polymorphic mimicry. The adaptive benefit of these polymorphisms is questionable since variation from the most common warning patterns is expected to be disadvantageous as novel signals are punished by predators naive to them. In this study, we use artificial butterfly models throughout Central and South America to characterize the selective pressures maintaining polymorphic mimicry in Heliconius doris. Our results highlight the complexity of positive frequency-dependent selection, the principal selective pressure driving convergence among Müllerian mimics, and its impacts on interspecific variation of mimetic warning coloration. We further show how this selection regime can both limit and facilitate the diversification of mimetic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G. Ogilvie
- Department of Biological SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama CityPanama
| | | | - Ryan Range
- Department of Biological SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
| | - Riccardo Papa
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Puerto RicoRio PiedrasPuerto Rico
| | | | - Mathieu Chouteau
- Laboratoire Écologie, Évolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens (LEEISA)Université de GuyaneCNRSIFREMERCayenneFrench Guiana
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7
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Mattila ALK, Jiggins CD, Opedal ØH, Montejo-Kovacevich G, Pinheiro de Castro ÉC, McMillan WO, Bacquet C, Saastamoinen M. Evolutionary and ecological processes influencing chemical defense variation in an aposematic and mimetic Heliconius butterfly. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11523. [PMID: 34178447 PMCID: PMC8216171 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemical defences against predators underlie the evolution of aposematic coloration and mimicry, which are classic examples of adaptive evolution. Surprisingly little is known about the roles of ecological and evolutionary processes maintaining defence variation, and how they may feedback to shape the evolutionary dynamics of species. Cyanogenic Heliconius butterflies exhibit diverse warning color patterns and mimicry, thus providing a useful framework for investigating these questions. We studied intraspecific variation in de novo biosynthesized cyanogenic toxicity and its potential ecological and evolutionary sources in wild populations of Heliconius erato along environmental gradients, in common-garden broods and with feeding treatments. Our results demonstrate substantial intraspecific variation, including detectable variation among broods reared in a common garden. The latter estimate suggests considerable evolutionary potential in this trait, although predicting the response to selection is likely complicated due to the observed skewed distribution of toxicity values and the signatures of maternal contributions to the inheritance of toxicity. Larval diet contributed little to toxicity variation. Furthermore, toxicity profiles were similar along steep rainfall and altitudinal gradients, providing little evidence for these factors explaining variation in biosynthesized toxicity in natural populations. In contrast, there were striking differences in the chemical profiles of H. erato from geographically distant populations, implying potential local adaptation in the acquisition mechanisms and levels of defensive compounds. The results highlight the extensive variation and potential for adaptive evolution in defense traits for aposematic and mimetic species, which may contribute to the high diversity often found in these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anniina L K Mattila
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Helsinki Life Science Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Current affiliation: Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Chris D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Helsinki Life Science Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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