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Pointer MD, Spurgin LG, Gage MJG, McMullan M, Richardson DS. Genetic architecture of dispersal behaviour in the post-harvest pest and model organism Tribolium castaneum. Heredity (Edinb) 2023; 131:253-262. [PMID: 37516814 PMCID: PMC10539327 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-023-00641-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Dispersal behaviour is an important aspect of the life-history of animals. However, the genetic architecture of dispersal-related traits is often obscure or unknown, even in well studied species. Tribolium castaneum is a globally significant post-harvest pest and established model organism, yet studies of its dispersal have shown ambiguous results and the genetic basis of this behaviour remains unresolved. We combine experimental evolution and agent-based modelling to investigate the number of loci underlying dispersal in T. castaneum, and whether the trait is sex-linked. Our findings demonstrate rapid evolution of dispersal behaviour under selection. We find no evidence of sex-biases in the dispersal behaviour of the offspring of crosses, supporting an autosomal genetic basis of the trait. Moreover, simulated data approximates experimental data under simulated scenarios where the dispersal trait is controlled by one or few loci, but not many loci. Levels of dispersal in experimentally inbred lines, compared with simulations, indicate that a single locus model is not well supported. Taken together, these lines of evidence support an oligogenic architecture underlying dispersal in Tribolium castaneum. These results have implications for applied pest management and for our understanding of the evolution of dispersal in the coleoptera, the world's most species-rich order.
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Facchini E, Shrestha K, van den Boer E, Junes P, Sader G, Peeters K, Schmitt E. Long-Term Artificial Selection for Increased Larval Body Weight of Hermetia illucens in Industrial Settings. Front Genet 2022; 13:865490. [PMID: 35783268 PMCID: PMC9240604 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.865490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) farming has exponentially increased in recent years due to the ability of its larvae to efficiently convert low-grade organic materials into high-value food, feed, and technical products. There is a need to further improve the efficiency of production, to meet the rising demands for proteins in the feed and food industries under limited resources. One means of improvement is artificial selection, which has been widely applied in plants and in other livestock species. In 2019, a genetic improvement program was started with the aim to increase larval body weight in black soldier fly larvae. In this paper, we present the outcomes of this breeding program after 10, 13, and 16 generations of selection. The performance of the selected body weight line was compared to the base population line over six experimental rounds under different environmental conditions. Under automated production settings, an average increase of +39% in larval weight, +34% in wet crate yield, +26% in dry matter crate yield, +32% in crude protein per crate, and +21% crude fat per crate was achieved in the selected line compared to the base population line. This research demonstrates the potential contribution of artificial selection to improve efficiency when farming black soldier flies in industrial settings. Further research is needed to fully unlock that potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Facchini
- Hendrix Genetics Research Technology & Services B.V., Boxmeer, Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Gaya Sader
- Protix Biosystems B.V., Dongen, Netherlands
| | - Katrijn Peeters
- Hendrix Genetics Research Technology & Services B.V., Boxmeer, Netherlands
| | - Eric Schmitt
- Protix Biosystems B.V., Dongen, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Eric Schmitt,
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Pointer MD, Gage MJG, Spurgin LG. Tribolium beetles as a model system in evolution and ecology. Heredity (Edinb) 2021; 126:869-883. [PMID: 33767370 PMCID: PMC8178323 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00420-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Flour beetles of the genus Tribolium have been utilised as informative study systems for over a century and contributed to major advances across many fields. This review serves to highlight the significant historical contribution that Tribolium study systems have made to the fields of ecology and evolution, and to promote their use as contemporary research models. We review the broad range of studies employing Tribolium to make significant advances in ecology and evolution. We show that research using Tribolium beetles has contributed a substantial amount to evolutionary and ecological understanding, especially in the fields of population dynamics, reproduction and sexual selection, population and quantitative genetics, and behaviour, physiology and life history. We propose a number of future research opportunities using Tribolium, with particular focus on how their amenability to forward and reverse genetic manipulation may provide a valuable complement to other insect models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Pointer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
| | - Matthew J G Gage
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
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Fisher DN, Wilson AJ, Boutin S, Dantzer B, Lane JE, Coltman DW, Gorrell JC, McAdam AG. Social effects of territorial neighbours on the timing of spring breeding in North American red squirrels. J Evol Biol 2019; 32:559-571. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David N. Fisher
- Department for Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada
| | - Alastair J. Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Cornwall UK
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology University of Michigan Ann Arbour Michigan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbour Michigan
| | - Jeffrey E. Lane
- Department of Biology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
| | - David W. Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada
| | - Jamie C. Gorrell
- Biology Department University of Vancouver Island Nanaimo British Columbia Canada
| | - Andrew G. McAdam
- Department for Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario Canada
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Han CS, Tuni C, Ulcik J, Dingemanse NJ. Increased developmental density decreases the magnitude of indirect genetic effects expressed during agonistic interactions in an insect. Evolution 2018; 72:2435-2448. [PMID: 30221347 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The expression of aggression depends not only on the direct genetic effects (DGEs) of an individual's genes on its own behavior, but also on indirect genetic effects (IGEs) caused by heritable phenotypes expressed by social partners. IGEs can affect the amount of heritable variance on which selection can act. Despite the important roles of IGEs in the evolutionary process, it remains largely unknown whether the strength of IGEs varies across life stages or competitive regimes. Based on manipulations of nymphal densities and > 3000 pair-wise aggression tests across multiple life stages, we experimentally demonstrate that IGEs on aggression are stronger in field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) that develop at lower densities than in those that develop at higher densities, and that these effects persist with age. The existence of density-dependent IGEs implies that social interactions strongly determine the plastic expression of aggression when competition for resources is relaxed. A more competitive (higher density) rearing environment may fail to provide crickets with sufficient resources to develop social cognition required for strong IGEs. The contribution of IGEs to evolutionary responses was greater at lower densities. Our study thereby demonstrates the importance of considering IGEs in density-dependent ecological and evolutionary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang S Han
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Current Address: School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Cristina Tuni
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jakob Ulcik
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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Khan I, Prakash A, Issar S, Umarani M, Sasidharan R, Masagalli JN, Lama P, Venkatesan R, Agashe D. Female Density-Dependent Chemical Warfare Underlies Fitness Effects of Group Sex Ratio in Flour Beetles. Am Nat 2018. [DOI: 10.1086/695806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Bailey NW, Marie-Orleach L, Moore AJ. Indirect genetic effects in behavioral ecology: does behavior play a special role in evolution? Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Bailey
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | | | - Allen J Moore
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
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Webber QMR, Vander Wal E. An evolutionary framework outlining the integration of individual social and spatial ecology. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:113-127. [PMID: 29055050 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Behaviour is the interface between an organism and its environment, and behavioural plasticity is important for organisms to cope with environmental change. Social behaviour is particularly important because sociality is a dynamic process, where environmental variation influences group dynamics and social plasticity can mediate resource acquisition. Heterogeneity in the ecological environment can therefore influence the social environment. The combination of the ecological and social environments may be interpreted collectively as the "socioecological environment," which could explain variation in fitness. Our objective was to outline a framework through which individual social and spatial phenotypes can be integrated and interpreted as phenotypes that covary as a function of changes in the socioecological environment. We propose the socioecological environment is composed of individual behavioural traits, including sociality and habitat selection, both of which are repeatable, potentially heritable and may reflect animal personality traits. We also highlight how ecological and social niche theory can be applied to the socioecological environment framework, where individuals occupy different socioecological niches. Individual sociality and habitat selection are also density-dependent, and theory predicts that density-dependent traits should affect reproduction, survival, and therefore fitness and population dynamics. We then illustrate the proximate links between sociality, habitat selection and fitness as well as the ultimate, and possibly adaptive, consequences associated with changes in population density. The ecological, evolutionary and applied implications of our proposed socioecological environment framework are broad and changes in density could influence individual fitness and population dynamics. For instance, human-induced environmental changes can influence population density, which can affect the distribution of social and spatial phenotypes within a population. In summary, we outline a conceptual framework that incorporates individual social and spatial behavioural traits with fitness and we highlight a range of ecological and evolutionary processes that are likely associated with the socioecological environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quinn M R Webber
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.,Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
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