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Orr SE, Hedrick NA, Murray KA, Pasupuleti AK, Kovacs JL, Goodisman MAD. Genetic and environmental effects on morphological traits of social phenotypes in wasps. Heredity (Edinb) 2024; 133:126-136. [PMID: 38918612 PMCID: PMC11286790 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-024-00701-5] [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: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Many species exhibit distinct phenotypic classes, such as sexes in dioecious species or castes in social species. The evolution of these classes is affected by the genetic architecture governing traits shared between phenotypes. However, estimates of the genetic and environmental factors contributing to phenotypic variation in distinct classes have rarely been examined. We studied the genetic architecture underlying morphological traits in phenotypic classes in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons. Our data revealed patriline effects on a few traits, indicating weak genetic influences on caste phenotypic variation. Interestingly, traits exhibited higher heritability in queens than workers. This result suggests that genetic variation has a stronger influence on trait variation in the queen caste than the worker caste, which is unexpected because queens typically experience direct selection. Moreover, estimates of heritability for traits were correlated between the castes, indicating that variability in trait size was governed by similar genetic architecture in the two castes. However, we failed to find evidence for a significant relationship between caste dimorphism and caste correlation, as would be expected if trait evolution was constrained by intralocus genetic conflict. Our analyses also uncovered variation in the allometric relationships for traits. These analyses suggested that worker traits were proportionally smaller than queen traits for most traits examined. Overall, our data provide evidence for a strong environmental and moderate genetic basis of trait variation among castes. Moreover, our results suggest that selection previously operated on caste phenotype in this species, and phenotypic variation is now governed primarily by environmental differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Orr
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Nicole A Hedrick
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Kayla A Murray
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Abhinav K Pasupuleti
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Jennifer L Kovacs
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
- Agnes Scott College, Department of Biology, 141 East College Avenue, Decatur, 30030, Georgia
| | - Michael A D Goodisman
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia.
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Lagunas-Robles G, Purcell J, Brelsford A. Linked supergenes underlie split sex ratio and social organization in an ant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2101427118. [PMID: 34772805 PMCID: PMC8609651 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2101427118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexually reproducing organisms usually invest equally in male and female offspring. Deviations from this pattern have led researchers to new discoveries in the study of parent-offspring conflict, genomic conflict, and cooperative breeding. Some social insect species exhibit the unusual population-level pattern of split sex ratio, wherein some colonies specialize in the production of future queens and others specialize in the production of males. Theoretical work predicted that worker control of sex ratio and variation in relatedness asymmetry among colonies would cause each colony to specialize in the production of one sex. While some empirical tests supported theoretical predictions, others deviated from them, leaving many questions about how split sex ratio emerges. One factor yet to be investigated is whether colony sex ratio may be influenced by the genotypes of queens or workers. Here, we sequence the genomes of 138 Formica glacialis workers from 34 male-producing and 34 gyne-producing colonies to determine whether split sex ratio is under genetic control. We identify a supergene spanning 5.5 Mbp that is closely associated with sex allocation in this system. Strikingly, this supergene is adjacent to another supergene spanning 5 Mbp that is associated with variation in colony queen number. We identify a similar pattern in a second related species, Formica podzolica. The discovery that split sex ratio is determined, at least in part, by a supergene in two species opens future research on the evolutionary drivers of split sex ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- German Lagunas-Robles
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521
| | - Jessica Purcell
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521
| | - Alan Brelsford
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521;
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3
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Hitchcock TJ, Gardner A, Ross L. Sexual antagonism in haplodiploids. Evolution 2021; 76:292-309. [PMID: 34773705 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Females and males may face different selection pressures, such that alleles conferring a benefit in one sex may be deleterious in the other. Such sexual antagonism has received a great deal of theoretical and empirical attention, almost all of which has focused on diploids. However, a sizeable minority of animals display an alternative haplodiploid mode of inheritance, encompassing both arrhenotoky, whereby males develop from unfertilized eggs, and paternal genome elimination (PGE), whereby males receive but do not transmit a paternal genome. Alongside unusual genetics, haplodiploids often exhibit social ecologies that modulate the relative value of females and males. Here we develop a series of evolutionary-genetic models of sexual antagonism for haplodiploids, incorporating details of their molecular biology and social ecology. We find that: 1) PGE promotes female-beneficial alleles more than arrhenotoky, and to an extent determined by the timing of elimination - and degree of silencing of - the paternal genome; 2) sib-mating relatively promotes female-beneficial alleles, as do other forms of inbreeding, including limited male-dispersal, oedipal-mating, and the pseudo-hermaphroditism of Icerya purchasi; 3) resource competition between related females inhibits the invasion of female-beneficial alleles; and 4) sexual antagonism foments conflicts between parents and offspring, endosymbionts and hosts, and maternal-origin and paternal-origin genes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andy Gardner
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Laura Ross
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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4
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Klein K, Kokko H, Ten Brink H. Disentangling Verbal Arguments: Intralocus Sexual Conflict in Haplodiploids. Am Nat 2021; 198:678-693. [PMID: 34762569 DOI: 10.1086/716908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn haplodiploids, (1) alleles spend twice as many generations in females as in males, (2) males are never heterozygous and therefore express recessive alleles, and (3) males sire daughters but not sons. Intralocus sexual conflict therefore operates differently in haplodiploids than in diploids and shares strong similarities with loci on X (or Z) chromosomes. The common co-occurrence of all three features makes it difficult to pinpoint their respective roles. However, they do not always co-occur in nature, and missing cases can be additionally studied with hypothetical life cycles. We model sexually antagonistic alleles in eight different sex determination systems and find that arguments 1 and 2 promote invasion and fixation of female-beneficial and male-beneficial alleles, respectively; argument 2 also improves prospects for polymorphism. Argument 3 harms the invasion prospects of sexually antagonistic alleles (irrespective of which sex benefits) but promotes fixation should invasion nevertheless occur. Disentangling the features helps to evaluate the validity of previous verbal arguments and yields better-informed predictions about intralocus sexual conflict under different sex determination systems, including hitherto undiscovered ones.
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5
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Evidence for genetic integration of mating behavior and morphology in a behaviorally plastic alternative reproductive tactic. Evol Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-021-10129-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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6
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Zhang W, Wu Z, Wang Z, Wang Z, Li C, Rajabi H, Wu J. Double-rowed teeth: design specialization of the H. venatorants for enhanced tribological stability. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2021; 16:055003. [PMID: 34233306 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac124a] [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: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The antH. venatorcan engage in various labors using a pair of elongated mandibles with the ability to rotate about two orthogonal axes. This biaxial rotation enables the ant to gently handle their small, fragile eggs with enhanced contact area and smaller work space. However, how this biaxial rotation influences the ant's predation ability and how the ant responds to this influence remain elusive. We quantitatively investigate the tribological performance of the ant's mandibles during interactions with prey by taking morphology and kinematics into consideration. We find that each ant mandible features unique, double-rows of dorsal teeth (DT) and ventral teeth (VT), which are employed to firmly clamp prey over a wide range of sizes by biting their different body parts, demonstrating the ant's predation ability. We hypothesize the mechanism underlying such an ability may rely on the two, non-parallel rows of teeth which potentially eliminate effects of biaxial rotation. To test this hypothesis, we systematically change the distribution and orientation of teeth on bio-inspired robotic mandibles and investigate the mandible tribological performance of different teeth configurations. We find that the friction coefficient varies prominently between the DT and VT resulting from biaxial rotation, with the variations showing an inverse pattern. This explains the observed phenomenon that mandibles equipped with DT and VT provide the most stable friction coefficient when clamping objects of different sizes using different mandible regions. The specialized distribution of teeth facilitates enhanced tribological stability in capturing prey, and demonstrates an intrinsic link between the form, motion, and function in the insect appendages. Our research sheds lights on the current understanding of the predation behaviors of ants, and can inspire future design of multifunctional robotic grippers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhigang Wu
- School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Zixin Wang
- School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhe Wang
- Beijing Engineering Research Center of Radiographic Techniques and Equipment, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
- Jinan Laboratory of Applied Nuclear Science, Jinan, 250031, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuchu Li
- Functional Morphology & Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University, Am Botanischen Garten 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Hamed Rajabi
- Functional Morphology & Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University, Am Botanischen Garten 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
- Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jianing Wu
- School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
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7
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Herrig DK, Vertacnik KL, Kohrs AR, Linnen CR. Support for the adaptive decoupling hypothesis from whole-transcriptome profiles of a hypermetamorphic and sexually dimorphic insect, Neodiprion lecontei. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:4551-4566. [PMID: 34174126 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Though seemingly bizarre, the dramatic morphological and ecological transformation that occurs when immature life stages metamorphose into reproductive adults is one of the most successful developmental strategies on the planet. The adaptive decoupling hypothesis (ADH) proposes that metamorphosis is an adaptation for breaking developmental links between traits expressed in different life stages, thereby facilitating their independent evolution when exposed to opposing selection pressures. Here, we draw inspiration from the ADH to develop a conceptual framework for understanding changes in gene expression across ontogeny. We hypothesized that patterns of stage-biased and sex-biased gene expression are the product of both decoupling mechanisms and selection history. To test this hypothesis, we characterized transcriptome-wide patterns of gene-expression traits for three ecologically distinct larval stages (all male) and adult males and females of a hypermetamorphic insect (Neodiprion lecontei). We found that stage-biased gene expression was most pronounced between larval and adult males, which is consistent with the ADH. However, even in the absence of a metamorphic transition, considerable stage-biased expression was observed among morphologically and behaviourally distinct larval stages. Stage-biased expression was also observed across ecologically relevant Gene Ontology categories and genes, highlighting the role of ecology in shaping patterns of gene expression. We also found that the magnitude and prevalence of stage-biased expression far exceeded adult sex-biased expression. Overall, our results highlight how the ADH can shed light on transcriptome-wide patterns of gene expression in organisms with complex life cycles. For maximal insight, detailed knowledge of organismal ecology is also essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle K Herrig
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Kim L Vertacnik
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Anna R Kohrs
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
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8
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Kreider JJ, Pen I, Kramer BH. Antagonistic pleiotropy and the evolution of extraordinary lifespans in eusocial organisms. Evol Lett 2021; 5:178-186. [PMID: 34136267 PMCID: PMC8190452 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Queens of eusocial species live extraordinarily long compared to their workers. So far, it has been argued that these lifespan divergences are readily explained by the classical evolutionary theory of ageing. As workers predominantly perform risky tasks, such as foraging and nest defense, and queens stay in the well-protected nests, selection against harmful genetic mutations expressed in old age should be weaker in workers than in queens due to caste differences in extrinsic mortality risk, and thus, lead to the evolution of longer queen and shorter worker lifespans. However, these arguments have not been supported by formal models. Here, we present a model for the evolution of caste-specific ageing in social insects, based on Williams' antagonistic pleiotropy theory of ageing. In individual-based simulations, we assume that mutations with antagonistic fitness effects can act within castes, that is, mutations in early life are accompanied by an antagonistic effect acting in later life, or between castes, where antagonistic effects emerge due to caste antagonism or indirect genetic effects between castes. In monogynous social insect species with sterile workers, large lifespan divergences between castes evolved under all different scenarios of antagonistic effects, but regardless of the degree of caste-specific extrinsic mortality. Mutations with antagonistic fitness effects within castes reduced lifespans of both castes, while mutations with between-caste antagonistic effects decreased worker lifespans more than queen lifespans, and consequently increased lifespan divergences. Our results challenge the central explanatory role of extrinsic mortality for caste-specific ageing in eusocial organisms and suggest that antagonistic pleiotropy affects castes differently due to reproductive monopolization by queens, hence, reproductive division of labor. Finally, these findings provide new insights into the evolution of tissue-specific ageing in multicellular organisms in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan J. Kreider
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 7Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 7Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Boris H. Kramer
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 7Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
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9
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Liotta MN, Abbott JK, Morris MR, Rios‐Cardenas O. Antagonistic selection on body size and sword length in a wild population of the swordtail fish, Xiphophorus multilineatus: Potential for intralocus tactical conflict. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3941-3955. [PMID: 33976786 PMCID: PMC8093718 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) have provided valuable insights into how sexual selection and life history trade-offs can lead to variation within a sex. However, the possibility that tactics may constrain evolution through intralocus tactical conflict (IATC) is rarely considered. In addition, when IATC has been considered, the focus has often been on the genetic correlations between the ARTs, while evidence that the ARTs have different optima for associated traits and that at least one of the tactics is not at its optimum is often missing. Here, we investigate selection on three traits associated with the ARTs in the swordtail fish Xiphophorus multilineatus; body size, body shape, and the sexually selected trait for which these fishes were named, sword length (elongation of the caudal fin). All three traits are tactically dimorphic, with courter males being larger, deeper bodied and having longer swords, and the sneaker males being smaller, more fusiform and having shorter swords. Using measures of reproductive success in a wild population we calculated selection differentials, as well as linear and quadratic gradients. We demonstrated that the tactics have different optima and at least one of the tactics is not at its optimum for body size and sword length. Our results provide the first evidence of selection in the wild on the sword, an iconic trait for sexual selection. In addition, given the high probability that these traits are genetically correlated to some extent between the two tactics, our study suggests that IATC is constraining both body size and the sword from reaching their phenotypic optima. We discuss the importance of considering the role of IATC in the evolution of tactical dimorphism, how this conflict can be present despite tactical dimorphism, and how it is important to consider this conflict when explaining not only variation within a species but differences across species as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa N. Liotta
- Department of Biological SciencesThe Ohio Center for Ecological and Evolutionary StudiesOhio UniversityAthensOHUSA
| | | | - Molly R. Morris
- Department of Biological SciencesThe Ohio Center for Ecological and Evolutionary StudiesOhio UniversityAthensOHUSA
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10
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Dyson CJ, Goodisman MAD. Gene Duplication in the Honeybee: Patterns of DNA Methylation, Gene Expression, and Genomic Environment. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:2322-2331. [PMID: 32243528 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene duplication serves a critical role in evolutionary adaptation by providing genetic raw material to the genome. The evolution of duplicated genes may be influenced by epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation, which affects gene function in some taxa. However, the manner in which DNA methylation affects duplicated genes is not well understood. We studied duplicated genes in the honeybee Apis mellifera, an insect with a highly sophisticated social structure, to investigate whether DNA methylation was associated with gene duplication and genic evolution. We found that levels of gene body methylation were significantly lower in duplicate genes than in single-copy genes, implicating a possible role of DNA methylation in postduplication gene maintenance. Additionally, we discovered associations of gene body methylation with the location, length, and time since divergence of paralogous genes. We also found that divergence in DNA methylation was associated with divergence in gene expression in paralogs, although the relationship was not completely consistent with a direct link between DNA methylation and gene expression. Overall, our results provide further insight into genic methylation and how its association with duplicate genes might facilitate evolutionary processes and adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl J Dyson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
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11
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Collet J, Fellous S. Do traits separated by metamorphosis evolve independently? Concepts and methods. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20190445. [PMID: 30966980 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the ubiquity of complex life cycles, we know little of the evolutionary constraints exerted by metamorphosis. Here, we present pitfalls and methods to answer whether animals with a complex life cycle can independently adapt to the environments encountered at each life stage, with a specific focus on the microevolution of quantitative characters. We first discuss challenges associated with study traits and populations. We further emphasize the benefits of using a combination of approaches. We then develop how multivariate methods can limit several issues by revealing genetic patterns that are invisible when only considering trait-by-trait genetic correlations. Finally, we detail how Lande's work on sexual dimorphism can be applied in measuring G matrices across life stages. The methods and tools described here will contribute towards building a predictive framework for trait evolution across life stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Collet
- 1 CBGP, INRA, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ. Montpellier , Montpellier , France.,2 CEFE, CNRS, Univ. Montpellier, Univ. Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD , Montpellier , France
| | - Simon Fellous
- 1 CBGP, INRA, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ. Montpellier , Montpellier , France
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12
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Friedman NR, Remeš V, Economo EP. A Morphological Integration Perspective on the Evolution of Dimorphism among Sexes and Social Insect Castes. Integr Comp Biol 2019; 59:410-419. [PMID: 31120505 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icz053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species have evolved alternate phenotypes, thus enabling individuals to conditionally produce phenotypes that are favorable for reproductive success. Examples of this phenomenon include sexual dimorphism, alternative reproductive strategies, and social insect castes. While the evolutionary functions and developmental mechanisms of dimorphic phenotypes have been studied extensively, little attention has focused on the evolutionary covariance between each phenotype. We extend the conceptual framework and methods of morphological integration to hypothesize that dimorphic traits tend to be less integrated between sexes or social castes. In the case of social insects, we describe results from our recent study of an ant genus in which workers have major and minor worker castes that perform different behavioral repertoires in and around the nest. In the case of birds, we describe a new analysis of a family of songbirds that exhibits plumage coloration that can differ greatly between males and females, with apparently independent changes in each sex. Ant head shape, which is highly specialized in each worker caste, was weakly integrated between worker castes, whereas thorax shape, which is more monomorphic, was tightly integrated. Similarly, in birds, we found a negative association between dimorphism and the degree of integration between sexes. We also found that integration decreased in fairy wrens (Malurus) for many feather patches that evolved greater dichromatism. Together, this suggests that the process of evolving increased dimorphism results in a decrease in integration between sexes and social castes. We speculate that once a mechanism for dimorphism evolves, that mechanism can create independent variation in one sex or caste upon which selection may act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas R Friedman
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa Japan
| | - Vladimír Remeš
- Department of Zoology & Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Tř. 17 Listopadu 50, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Evan P Economo
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa Japan
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Matsuura
- Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto University Kyoto Japan
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14
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Goedert D, Calsbeek R. Experimental Evidence That Metamorphosis Alleviates Genomic Conflict. Am Nat 2019; 194:356-366. [DOI: 10.1086/704183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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15
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Walsh JT, Signorotti L, Linksvayer TA, d'Ettorre P. Phenotypic correlation between queen and worker brood care supports the role of maternal care in the evolution of eusociality. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:10409-10415. [PMID: 30464814 PMCID: PMC6238135 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Revised: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperative brood care by siblings, a defining feature of eusociality, is hypothesized to be evolutionarily derived from maternal care via shifts in the timing of the expression of genes underlying maternal care. If sibling and maternal care share a genetic basis, the two behaviors are expected to be genetically and phenotypically correlated. We tested this prediction in the black garden ant Lasius niger by quantifying the brood retrieval rate of queens and their first and later generation worker offspring. Brood retrieval rate of queens was positively phenotypically correlated with the brood retrieval rate of first generation but not with later generation workers. The difference between first and later generation workers could be due to the stronger similarity in care behavior provided by queens and first generation workers compared to later generations. Furthermore, we found that queen retrieval rate was positively correlated with colony productivity, suggesting that natural selection is acting on maternal care. Overall, our results support the idea of a shared genetic basis between maternal and sibling care as well as queen and worker traits more generally, which has implications for the role of intercaste correlations in the evolution of queen and worker traits and eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin T. Walsh
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
| | - Lisa Signorotti
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC)University of Paris 13Sorbonne Paris CitéFrance
| | | | - Patrizia d'Ettorre
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC)University of Paris 13Sorbonne Paris CitéFrance
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