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Trotta V, Forlano P, Caccavo V, Fanti P, Battaglia D. Transgenerational plasticity in aphids reared in a poor-resource environment. CURRENT RESEARCH IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 5:100081. [PMID: 38694273 PMCID: PMC11061699 DOI: 10.1016/j.cris.2024.100081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
The changing environmental conditions can affect insect biology over multiple generations and phenotypic plasticity is important for coping with these changes. Transgenerational plasticity occurs when the environment in which the parents developed influences the plastic response of the offspring phenotype. In the present study, the plastic effects of resource limitation on important life history traits such as body size, fecundity, survival, and resistance to starvation of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum were investigated over two generations. This study focused on understanding how resource limitation can determine an adaptive expression of maternal effects and transgenerational plasticity in fitness-related traits. Aphids showed phenotypic plasticity for the life history traits investigated, as they performed better when grown in an optimal environment than in a resource-poor one. Also, aphids had a poorer performance if their mothers were raised in a resource-poor environment. The effects of transgenerational plasticity were observed only in response to resistance to starvation, through increased survival in the offspring of the mother reared in a resource-poor environment, suggesting an evolutionary bet-hedging strategy. The results of this study showed that the effects of adaptive transgenerational plasticity may be partially masked in stressful environments, where developmental problems instead predominate. More information on the transgenerational response to resource limitation across generations can contribute to a better understanding of aphid biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Trotta
- Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Forlano
- Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - Vittoria Caccavo
- Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - Paolo Fanti
- Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - Donatella Battaglia
- Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
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Baur J, Zwoinska M, Koppik M, Snook RR, Berger D. Heat stress reveals a fertility debt owing to postcopulatory sexual selection. Evol Lett 2024; 8:101-113. [PMID: 38370539 PMCID: PMC10872150 DOI: 10.1093/evlett/qrad007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Climates are changing rapidly, demanding equally rapid adaptation of natural populations. Whether sexual selection can aid such adaptation is under debate; while sexual selection should promote adaptation when individuals with high mating success are also best adapted to their local surroundings, the expression of sexually selected traits can incur costs. Here we asked what the demographic consequences of such costs may be once climates change to become harsher and the strength of natural selection increases. We first adopted a classic life history theory framework, incorporating a trade-off between reproduction and maintenance, and applied it to the male germline to generate formalized predictions for how an evolutionary history of strong postcopulatory sexual selection (sperm competition) may affect male fertility under acute adult heat stress. We then tested these predictions by assessing the thermal sensitivity of fertility (TSF) in replicated lineages of seed beetles maintained for 68 generations under three alternative mating regimes manipulating the opportunity for sexual and natural selection. In line with the theoretical predictions, we find that males evolving under strong sexual selection suffer from increased TSF. Interestingly, females from the regime under strong sexual selection, who experienced relaxed selection on their own reproductive effort, had high fertility in benign settings but suffered increased TSF, like their brothers. This implies that female fertility and TSF evolved through genetic correlation with reproductive traits sexually selected in males. Paternal but not maternal heat stress reduced offspring fertility with no evidence for adaptive transgenerational plasticity among heat-exposed offspring, indicating that the observed effects may compound over generations. Our results suggest that trade-offs between fertility and traits increasing success in postcopulatory sexual selection can be revealed in harsh environments. This can put polyandrous species under immediate risk during extreme heat waves expected under future climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Baur
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Division of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Martyna Zwoinska
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Division of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mareike Koppik
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Division of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Animal Ecology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Rhonda R Snook
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Berger
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Division of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Tobias Z, Solow A, Tepolt C. Geography and developmental plasticity shape post-larval thermal tolerance in the golden star tunicate, Botryllus schlosseri. J Therm Biol 2024; 119:103763. [PMID: 38071896 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103763] [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: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity play key roles in mediating organisms' ability to respond to spatiotemporal variation in temperature. These two processes often act together to generate latitudinal or elevational clines in acute temperature tolerance. Phenotypic plasticity is also subject to local adaptation, with the expectation that populations inhabiting more variable environments should exhibit greater phenotypic plasticity of thermal tolerance. Here we examine the potential for local adaptation and developmental plasticity of thermal tolerance in the widespread invasive tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. By comparing five populations across a thermal gradient spanning 4.4° of latitude in the northwest Atlantic, we demonstrate that warmer populations south of the Gulf of Maine exhibit significantly increased (∼0.2 °C) post-larval temperature tolerance relative to the colder populations within it. We also show that B. schlosseri post-larvae possess a high degree of developmental plasticity for this trait, shifting their median temperature of survival (LT50) upwards by as much as 0.18 °C per 1 °C increase in environmental temperature. Lastly, we found that populations vary in their degrees of developmental plasticity, with populations that experience more pronounced short-term temperature variability exhibiting greater developmental plasticity, suggesting the local adaptation of developmental plasticity. By comparing the thermal tolerance of populations across space and through time, we demonstrate how geography and developmental plasticity have shaped thermal tolerance in B. schlosseri. These results help inform our understanding of how species are able to adjust their thermal physiology in new environments, including those encountered during invasion and under increasingly novel climate conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Tobias
- MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, MA, USA; Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA.
| | - Andrew Solow
- Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - Carolyn Tepolt
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
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Halali S, Saastamoinen M. Exploring links between climatic predictability and the evolution of within- and transgenerational plasticity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9662. [PMID: 36619708 PMCID: PMC9798148 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In variable environments, phenotypic plasticity can increase fitness by providing tight environment-phenotype matching. However, adaptive plasticity is expected to evolve only when the future selective environment can be predicted based on the prevailing conditions. That is, the juvenile environment should be predictive of the adult environment (within-generation plasticity) or the parental environment should be predictive of the offspring environment (transgenerational plasticity). Moreover, the environmental predictability can also shape transient responses such as stress response in an adaptive direction. Here, we test links between environmental predictability and the evolution of adaptive plasticity by combining time series analyses and a common garden experiment using temperature as a stressor in a temperate butterfly (Melitaea cinxia). Time series analyses revealed that across season fluctuations in temperature over 48 years are overall predictable. However, within the growing season, temperature fluctuations showed high heterogeneity across years with low autocorrelations and the timing of temperature peaks were asynchronous. Most life-history traits showed strong within-generation plasticity for temperature and traits such as body size and growth rate broke the temperature-size rule. Evidence for transgenerational plasticity, however, was weak and detected for only two traits each in an adaptive and non-adaptive direction. We suggest that the low predictability of temperature fluctuations within the growing season likely disfavors the evolution of adaptive transgenerational plasticity but instead favors strong within-generation plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Halali
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland,Helsinki Institute of Life ScienceUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland,Helsinki Institute of Life ScienceUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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Shaible TM, Matzkin LM. Physiological and life history changes associated with seasonal adaptation in the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis. Biol Open 2022; 11:bio059610. [PMID: 36285699 PMCID: PMC9637388 DOI: 10.1242/bio.059610] [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: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Many insects inhabiting temperate climates are faced with changing environmental conditions throughout the year. Depending on the species, these environmental fluctuations can be experienced within a single generation or across multiple generations. Strategies for dealing with these seasonal changes vary across populations. Drosophila mojavensis is a cactophilic Drosophila species endemic to the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert regularly reaches temperatures of 50°C in the summer months. As individuals of this population are rare to collect in the summer months, we simulated the cycling temperatures experienced by D. mojavensis in the Sonoran Desert from April to July (four generations) in a temperature- and light-controlled chamber, to understand the physiological and life history changes that allow this population to withstand these conditions. In contrast to our hypothesis of a summer aestivation, we found that D. mojavensis continue to reproduce during the summer months, albeit with lower viability, but the adult survivorship of the population is highly reduced during this period. As expected, stress resistance increased during the summer months in both the adult and the larval stages. This study examines several strategies for withstanding the Sonoran Desert summer conditions which may be informative in the study of other desert endemic species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luciano M. Matzkin
- Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
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Thermal fitness costs and benefits of developmental acclimation in fall armyworm. SCIENTIFIC AFRICAN 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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Yin J, Lin X, Yao J, Li QQ, Zhang Y. Genotypic variation of transgenerational plasticity can be explained by environmental predictability at origins. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Yin
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen Univ. Xiamen Fujian China
| | - Xiaohe Lin
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen Univ. Xiamen Fujian China
| | - Jing Yao
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen Univ. Xiamen Fujian China
| | - Qingshun Q. Li
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen Univ. Xiamen Fujian China
- Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences, Western Univ. of Health Sciences Pomona CA USA
| | - Yuan‐Ye Zhang
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen Univ. Xiamen Fujian China
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Enriquez‐Urzelai U, Nicieza AG, Montori A, Llorente GA, Urrutia MB. Physiology and acclimation potential are tuned with phenology in larvae of a prolonged breeder amphibian. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Alfredo G. Nicieza
- Biodiversity Research Inst. (IMIB), Univ. of Oviedo‐Principality of Asturias‐CSIC Oviedo Spain
- Ecology Unit, Dept of Biology of Organisms and Systems, Univ. of Oviedo Oviedo Spain
| | - Albert Montori
- CREAC, Centre de Recerca i Educació Ambiental de Calafell, Calafell Barcelona Spain
| | - Gustavo A. Llorente
- Dept of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Inst. de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBIO), Faculty of Biology, Univ. of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Miren Bego Urrutia
- Depto de Genética, Antropología Física y Fisiología Animal, Univ. del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea Bilbao Spain
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