1
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Young FJ, Alcalde Anton A, Melo-Flórez L, Couto A, Foley J, Monllor M, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. Enhanced long-term memory and increased mushroom body plasticity in Heliconius butterflies. iScience 2024; 27:108949. [PMID: 38357666 PMCID: PMC10864207 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108949] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Heliconius butterflies exhibit expanded mushroom bodies, a key brain region for learning and memory in insects, and a novel foraging strategy unique among Lepidoptera - traplining for pollen. We tested visual long-term memory across six Heliconius and outgroup Heliconiini species. Heliconius species exhibited greater fidelity to learned colors after eight days without reinforcement, with further evidence of recall at 13 days. We also measured the plastic response of the mushroom body calyces over this time period, finding substantial post-eclosion expansion and synaptic pruning in the calyx of Heliconius erato, but not in the outgroup Heliconiini Dryas iulia. In Heliconius erato, visual associative learning experience specifically was associated with a greater retention of synapses and recall accuracy was positively correlated with synapse number. These results suggest that increases in the size of specific brain regions and changes in their plastic response to experience may coevolve to support novel behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fletcher J. Young
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Amaia Alcalde Anton
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | - Antoine Couto
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Jessica Foley
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | | | - Stephen H. Montgomery
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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2
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Hebberecht L, Wainwright JB, Thompson C, Kershenbaum S, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. Plasticity and genetic effects contribute to different axes of neural divergence in a community of mimetic Heliconius butterflies. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1116-1132. [PMID: 37341138 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Changes in ecological preference, often driven by spatial and temporal variation in resource distribution, can expose populations to environments with divergent information content. This can lead to adaptive changes in the degree to which individuals invest in sensory systems and downstream processes, to optimize behavioural performance in different contexts. At the same time, environmental conditions can produce plastic responses in nervous system development and maturation, providing an alternative route to integrating neural and ecological variation. Here, we explore how these two processes play out across a community of Heliconius butterflies. Heliconius communities exhibit multiple Mullerian mimicry rings, associated with habitat partitioning across environmental gradients. These environmental differences have previously been linked to heritable divergence in brain morphology in parapatric species pairs. They also exhibit a unique dietary adaptation, known as pollen feeding, that relies heavily on learning foraging routes, or trap-lines, between resources, which implies an important environmental influence on behavioural development. By comparing brain morphology across 133 wild-caught and insectary-reared individuals from seven Heliconius species, we find strong evidence for interspecific variation in patterns of neural investment. These largely fall into two distinct patterns of variation; first, we find consistent patterns of divergence in the size of visual brain components across both wild and insectary-reared individuals, suggesting genetically encoded divergence in the visual pathway. Second, we find interspecific differences in mushroom body size, a central component of learning and memory systems, but only among wild caught individuals. The lack of this effect in common-garden individuals suggests an extensive role for developmental plasticity in interspecific variation in the wild. Finally, we illustrate the impact of relatively small-scale spatial effects on mushroom body plasticity by performing experiments altering the cage size and structure experienced by individual H. hecale. Our data provide a comprehensive survey of community level variation in brain structure, and demonstrate that genetic effects and developmental plasticity contribute to different axes of interspecific neural variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Hebberecht
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | | | | | | | | | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
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3
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Couto A, Young FJ, Atzeni D, Marty S, Melo-Flórez L, Hebberecht L, Monllor M, Neal C, Cicconardi F, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. Rapid expansion and visual specialisation of learning and memory centres in the brains of Heliconiini butterflies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4024. [PMID: 37419890 PMCID: PMC10328955 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39618-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in the abundance and diversity of neural cell types, and their connectivity, shape brain composition and provide the substrate for behavioral evolution. Although investment in sensory brain regions is understood to be largely driven by the relative ecological importance of particular sensory modalities, how selective pressures impact the elaboration of integrative brain centers has been more difficult to pinpoint. Here, we provide evidence of extensive, mosaic expansion of an integration brain center among closely related species, which is not explained by changes in sites of primary sensory input. By building new datasets of neural traits among a tribe of diverse Neotropical butterflies, the Heliconiini, we detected several major evolutionary expansions of the mushroom bodies, central brain structures pivotal for insect learning and memory. The genus Heliconius, which exhibits a unique dietary innovation, pollen-feeding, and derived foraging behaviors reliant on spatial memory, shows the most extreme enlargement. This expansion is primarily associated with increased visual processing areas and coincides with increased precision of visual processing, and enhanced long term memory. These results demonstrate that selection for behavioral innovation and enhanced cognitive ability occurred through expansion and localized specialization in integrative brain centers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Couto
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fletcher J Young
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | - Daniele Atzeni
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Life Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Simon Marty
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | - Laura Hebberecht
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | | | - Chris Neal
- Wolfson Bioimaging Facility, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama.
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4
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Moura PA, Cardoso MZ, Montgomery SH. No evidence of social learning in a socially roosting butterfly in an associative learning task. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220490. [PMID: 37194257 PMCID: PMC10189306 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects may acquire social information by active communication and through inadvertent social cues. In a foraging setting, the latter may indicate the presence and quality of resources. Although social learning in foraging contexts is prevalent in eusocial species, this behaviour has been hypothesized to also exist between conspecifics in non-social species with sophisticated behaviours, including Heliconius butterflies. Heliconius are the only butterfly genus with active pollen feeding, a dietary innovation associated with a specialized, spatially faithful foraging behaviour known as trap-lining. Long-standing hypotheses suggest that Heliconius may acquire trap-line information by following experienced individuals. Indeed, Heliconius often aggregate in social roosts, which could act as 'information centres', and present conspecific following behaviour, enhancing opportunities for social learning. Here, we provide a direct test of social learning ability in Heliconius using an associative learning task in which naive individuals completed a colour preference test in the presence of demonstrators trained to feed randomly or with a strong colour preference. We found no evidence that Heliconius erato, which roost socially, used social information in this task. Combined with existing field studies, our results add to data which contradict the hypothesized role of social learning in Heliconius foraging behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila A. Moura
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil
| | - Marcio Z. Cardoso
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59078-970, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
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5
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Armstrong AR, Boggs CL. Antibody development to identify components of IIS and mTOR signaling pathways in lepidopteran species, a set of non-model insects. MICROPUBLICATION BIOLOGY 2023; 2023:10.17912/micropub.biology.000755. [PMID: 36879981 PMCID: PMC9984946 DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
Nutritional stress impacts many insect species that have differing reproductive strategies and life histories, yet it is unclear how nutrient-sensing signaling pathways mediate tissue-specific responses to changes in dietary input. In Drosophila melanogaster , insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IIS) and mTOR-mediated signaling within adipocytes regulates oogenesis. To facilitate comparative study of nutrient-sensing pathway activity in the fat body, we developed antibodies to assess IIS (anti-FOXO) and mTOR signaling (anti-TOR) across three nymphalid species (Lepidoptera). By optimizing whole-mount fat body immunostaining, we find FOXO nuclear enrichment in adult adipocytes, like that observed in Drosophila . Additionally, we show a previously uncharacterized TOR localization pattern in the fat body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa R Armstrong
- Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States
| | - Carol L Boggs
- School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States
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6
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Molleman F, Granados‐Tello J, Chapman CA, Tammaru T. Fruit‐feeding butterflies depend on adult food for reproduction: Evidence from longitudinal body mass and abundance data. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Freerk Molleman
- Department of Systematic Zoology Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, A. Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland
| | | | - Colin A. Chapman
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology The George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Toomas Tammaru
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences University of Tartu Tartu Estonia
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7
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Hebberecht L, Melo‐Flórez L, Young FJ, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. The evolution of adult pollen feeding did not alter postembryonic growth in
Heliconius
butterflies. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8999. [PMID: 35784071 PMCID: PMC9237422 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8999] [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: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
For many animals, the availability and provision of dietary resources can vary markedly between juvenile and adult stages, often leading to a temporal separation of nutrient acquisition and use. Juvenile developmental programs are likely limited by the energetic demands of many adult tissues and processes with early developmental origins. Enhanced dietary quality in the adult stage may, therefore, alter selection on life history and growth patterns in juvenile stages. Heliconius are unique among butterflies in actively collecting and digesting pollen grains, which provide an adult source of essential amino acids. The origin of pollen feeding has therefore previously been hypothesized to lift constraints on larval growth rates, allowing Heliconius to spend less time as larvae when they are most vulnerable to predation. By measuring larval and pupal life‐history traits across three pollen‐feeding and three nonpollen‐feeding Heliconiini, we provide the first test of this hypothesis. Although we detect significant interspecific variation in larval and pupal development, we do not find any consistent shift associated with pollen feeding. We discuss how this result may fit with patterns of nitrogen allocation, the benefits of nitrogenous stores, and developmental limitations on growth. Our results provide a framework for studies aiming to link innovations in adult Heliconius to altered selection regimes and developmental programs in early life stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Hebberecht
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Gamboa Panama
| | | | - Fletcher J. Young
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Gamboa Panama
| | | | - Stephen H. Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Gamboa Panama
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8
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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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9
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Dalbosco Dell'Aglio D, Mena S, Mauxion R, McMillan WO, Montgomery S. Divergence in Heliconius flight behaviour is associated with local adaptation to different forest structures. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:727-737. [PMID: 35157315 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
1. Micro-habitat choice plays a major role in shaping local patterns of biodiversity. In butterflies, stratification in flight height has an important role in maintaining community diversity. Despite its presumed importance, the role of behavioural shifts in early stages of speciation in response to differences in habitat structure is yet to be established. 2. Here, we investigated variation in flight height behaviour in two closely related Heliconius species, H. erato cyrbia and H. himera, which produce viable hybrids but are isolated across an environmental gradient, spanning lowland wet forest to high altitude scrub forest. Speciation in this pair is associated with strong assortative mating, but ecological isolation and local adaptation are also considered essential for complete reproductive isolation. 3. We quantified differences in flight height and forest structure across the environmental gradient and test the importance of resource distribution in explaining flight behaviour. We then use common garden experiments to test whether differences in flight height reflect individual responses to resource distribution or genetically determined shifts in foraging behaviour. 4. We found that the two species fly at different heights in the wild, and demonstrate that this can be explained by differences in the vertical distribution of plant resources. In both the wild and captivity, H. himera choose to fly lower and feed at lower positions, closely mirroring differences in resource availability in the wild. 5. Given expectations that foraging efficiency contributes to survival and reproductive success, we suggest that foraging behaviour may reflect local adaptation to divergent forest structures. Our results highlight the potential role of habitat-dependent divergence in behaviour during the early stages of speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sebastián Mena
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Rémi Mauxion
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - W Owen McMillan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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10
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A comparative study on insect longevity: tropical moths do not differ from their temperate relatives. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-021-10150-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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11
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Moura PA, Corso G, Montgomery SH, Cardoso MZ. True site fidelity in pollen‐feeding butterflies. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Priscila A. Moura
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
| | - Giberto Corso
- Departamento de Biofísica e Farmacologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
| | | | - Marcio Z. Cardoso
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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12
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Rosser N, Edelman NB, Queste LM, Nelson M, Seixas F, Dasmahapatra KK, Mallet J. Complex basis of hybrid female sterility and Haldane's rule in Heliconius butterflies: Z-linkage and epistasis. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:959-977. [PMID: 34779079 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Hybrids between species are often sterile or inviable. Hybrid unfitness usually evolves first in the heterogametic sex-a pattern known as Haldane's rule. The genetics of Haldane's rule have been extensively studied in species where the male is the heterogametic (XX/XY) sex, but its basis in taxa where the female is heterogametic (ZW/ZZ), such as Lepidoptera and birds, is largely unknown. Here, we analyse a new case of female hybrid sterility between geographic subspecies of Heliconius pardalinus. The two subspecies mate freely in captivity, but female F1 hybrids in both directions of cross are sterile. Sterility is due to arrested development of oocytes after they become differentiated from nurse cells, but before yolk deposition. We backcrossed fertile male F1 hybrids to parental females and mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for female sterility. We also identified genes differentially expressed in the ovary as a function of oocyte development. The Z chromosome has a major effect, similar to the 'large X effect' in Drosophila, with strong epistatic interactions between loci at either end of the Z chromosome, and between the Z chromosome and autosomal loci on chromosomes 8 and 20. By intersecting the list of genes within these QTLs with those differentially expressed in sterile and fertile hybrids, we identified three candidate genes with relevant phenotypes. This study is the first to characterize hybrid sterility using genome mapping in the Lepidoptera and shows that it is produced by multiple complex epistatic interactions often involving the sex chromosome, as predicted by the dominance theory of Haldane's rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Rosser
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Nathaniel B Edelman
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Yale School for the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | | | | | - Fernando Seixas
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - James Mallet
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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13
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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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14
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Young FJ, Montgomery SH. Pollen feeding in Heliconius butterflies: the singular evolution of an adaptive suite. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201304. [PMID: 33171092 PMCID: PMC7735275 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Major evolutionary transitions can be triggered by behavioural novelty, and are often associated with 'adaptive suites', which involve shifts in multiple co-adapted traits subject to complex interactions. Heliconius butterflies represent one such example, actively feeding on pollen, a behaviour unique among butterflies. Pollen feeding permits a prolonged reproductive lifespan, and co-occurs with a constellation of behavioural, neuroanatomical, life history, morphological and physiological traits that are absent in closely related, non-pollen-feeding genera. As a highly tractable system, supported by considerable ecological and genomic data, Heliconius are an excellent model for investigating how behavioural innovation can trigger a cascade of adaptive shifts in multiple diverse, but interrelated, traits. Here, we synthesize current knowledge of pollen feeding in Heliconius, and explore potential interactions between associated, putatively adaptive, traits. Currently, no physiological, morphological or molecular innovation has been explicitly linked to the origin of pollen feeding, and several hypothesized links between different aspects of Heliconius biology remain poorly tested. However, resolving these uncertainties will contribute to our understanding of how behavioural innovations evolve and subsequently alter the evolutionary trajectories of diverse traits impacting resource acquisition, life history, senescence and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fletcher J. Young
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol UBS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Stephen H. Montgomery
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol UBS8 1TQ, UK
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15
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Toure MW, Young FJ, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. Heliconiini butterflies can learn time-dependent reward associations. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200424. [PMID: 32961092 PMCID: PMC7532716 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
For many pollinators, flowers provide predictable temporal schedules of resource availability, meaning an ability to learn time-dependent information could be widely beneficial. However, this ability has only been demonstrated in a handful of species. Observations of Heliconius butterflies suggest that they may have an ability to form time-dependent foraging preferences. Heliconius are unique among butterflies in actively collecting pollen, a dietary behaviour linked to spatio-temporally faithful ‘trap-line' foraging. Time dependency of foraging preferences is hypothesized to allow Heliconius to exploit temporal predictability in alternative pollen resources. Here, we provide the first experimental evidence in support of this hypothesis, demonstrating that Heliconius hecale can learn opposing colour preferences in two time periods. This shift in preference is robust to the order of presentation, suggesting that preference is tied to the time of day and not due to ordinal or interval learning. However, this ability is not limited to Heliconius, as previously hypothesized, but also present in a related genus of non-pollen feeding butterflies. This demonstrates time learning likely pre-dates the origin of pollen feeding and may be prevalent across butterflies with less specialized foraging behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Wyatt Toure
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Canada H3A 1B1.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | - Fletcher J Young
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.,School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | - Stephen H Montgomery
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama.,School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
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16
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Darragh K, Byers KJRP, Merrill RM, McMillan WO, Schulz S, Jiggins CD. Male pheromone composition depends on larval but not adult diet in Heliconius melpomene. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2019; 44:397-405. [PMID: 31217661 PMCID: PMC6563479 DOI: 10.1111/een.12716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
1. Condition-dependent traits can act as honest signals of mate quality, with fitter individuals being able to display preferred phenotypes. Nutrition is known to be an important determinant of individual condition, with diet known to affect many secondary sexual traits. 2. In Heliconius butterflies, male chemical signalling plays an important role in female mate choice. Potential male sex pheromone components have been identified previously, although it is unclear what information they convey to the female. 3. In the present study, the effect of diet on androconial and genital compound production is tested in male Heliconius melpomene rosina. To manipulate larval diet, larvae are reared on three different Passiflora host plants: Passiflora menispermifolia, the preferred host plant, Passiflora vitifolia and Passiflora platyloba. To manipulate adult diet, adult butterflies are reared with and without access to pollen, a key component of their diet. 4. No evidence is found to suggest that adult pollen consumption affects compound production in the first 10 days after eclosion. There is also a strong overlap in the chemical profiles of individuals reared on different larval host plants. The most abundant compounds produced by the butterflies do not differ between host plant groups. However, some compounds found in small amounts differ both qualitatively and quantitatively. Some of these compounds are predicted to be of plant origin and the others synthesised by the butterfly. Further electrophysiological and behavioural experiments will be needed to determine the biological significance of these differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy Darragh
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeU.K.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama
| | - Kelsey J. R. P. Byers
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeU.K.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama
| | - Richard M. Merrill
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama
- Division of Evolutionary BiologyLudwig‐Maximilians‐UniversitätMunichGermany
| | | | - Stefan Schulz
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Organic ChemistryTechnische Universität BraunschweigBraunschweigGermany
| | - Chris D. Jiggins
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeU.K.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama
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17
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Reproductive adaptation in alate adult morphs of the English grain aphid Sitobion avenae under starvation stress. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2023. [PMID: 30765848 PMCID: PMC6375909 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38589-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Adapting their reproductive physiology is a tactic that insects use in responding to conditions of food unavailability. The present study examined the potential effects of starvation periods on the ovarian development and reproduction of alate adult morphs of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius). Morphs both continuously fed and starved aphids contained two telotrophic ovaries, each comprising five ovarioles. As time increase after emergence, the number of offspring produced by the fed aphids increased gradually, whereas the number of embryos in their ovaries decreased gradually. Both the number of mature embryos and the volume of embryos rapidly increased at 24 h after emergence, and then remained at an approximately constant level between 24 and 144 h. Compared to the fed aphids, starved aphids only produced a small number of nymphs, and there was no significant change in the total number of embryos between 24 and 144 h, whereas both the number of mature embryos and volume of embryos increased significantly. Irrespective of starvation period, highly significant relationships between life span and fecundity were found. Adult aphids starved for longer periods presented lower longevity and fecundity, but dead females contained more mature embryos than those starved for shorter periods. These results suggested that, under starvation stress, S. avenae tends to invest in the development of larger embryos at the expense of reducing lifespan and future fecundity. This adaptive reproductive strategy under starvation stress could be one of the factors contributing to the successful establishment of new colonies of alate migratory aphids.
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18
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Santostefano F, Galarza JA, Mappes J. Testing the direct and genetic benefit hypotheses of polyandry in the wood tiger moth. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2525-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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19
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Boggs CL. SELECTION PRESSURES AFFECTING MALE NUTRIENT INVESTMENT AT MATING IN HELICONIINE BUTTERFLIES. Evolution 2017; 35:931-940. [PMID: 28581061 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1981.tb04959.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/1980] [Revised: 01/15/1981] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carol L Boggs
- Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 78712
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20
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Mallet J, Barton NH. STRONG NATURAL SELECTION IN A WARNING-COLOR HYBRID ZONE. Evolution 2017; 43:421-431. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1989.tb04237.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/1987] [Accepted: 09/12/1988] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James Mallet
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Biometry; University College London; Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HE U.K
| | - Nicholas H. Barton
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Biometry; University College London; Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HE U.K
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21
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Mallet J, McMillan WO, Jiggins CD. ESTIMATING THE MATING BEHAVIOR OF A PAIR OF HYBRIDIZING HELICONIUS
SPECIES IN THE WILD. Evolution 2017; 52:503-510. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1998.tb01649.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/1997] [Accepted: 11/12/1997] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James Mallet
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Biology; University College London; 4 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HE England
| | - W. Owen McMillan
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Biology; University College London; 4 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HE England
| | - Chris D. Jiggins
- Galton Laboratory, Department of Biology; University College London; 4 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HE England
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22
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Karlsson B. RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND MATING SYSTEMS IN BUTTERFLIES. Evolution 2017; 49:955-961. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1995.tb02330.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/1994] [Accepted: 07/22/1994] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bengt Karlsson
- Department of Zoology; University of Stockholm; S-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
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23
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Tatar M, Carey JR, Vaupel JW. LONG-TERM COST OF REPRODUCTION WITH AND WITHOUT ACCELERATED SENESCENCE IN CALLOSOBRUCHUS MACULATUS:
ANALYSIS OF AGE-SPECIFIC MORTALITY. Evolution 2017; 47:1302-1312. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1993.tb02156.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/1992] [Accepted: 02/26/1993] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marc Tatar
- Graduate Group in Ecology; University of California; Davis California 95616
| | - James R. Carey
- Department of Entomology; University of California; Davis California 95616
| | - James W. Vaupel
- Center for Demographic Studies, Duke University, Center for Health and Social Policy, Odense University Medical School; DK-5000 Odense C Denmark
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24
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Holm S, Davis RB, Javoiš J, Õunap E, Kaasik A, Molleman F, Tammaru T. A comparative perspective on longevity: the effect of body size dominates over ecology in moths. J Evol Biol 2016; 29:2422-2435. [PMID: 27536807 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Revised: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Both physiologically and ecologically based explanations have been proposed to account for among-species differences in lifespan, but they remain poorly tested. Phylogenetically explicit comparative analyses are still scarce and those that exist are biased towards homoeothermic vertebrates. Insect studies can significantly contribute as lifespan can feasibly be measured in a high number of species, and the selective forces that have shaped it may differ largely between species and from those acting on larger animals. We recorded adult lifespan in 98 species of geometrid moths. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were applied to study variation in species-specific values of lifespan and to reveal its ecological and life-history correlates. Among-species and between-gender differences in lifespan were found to be notably limited; there was also no evidence of phylogenetic signal in this trait. Larger moth species were found to live longer, with this result supporting a physiological rather than ecological explanation of this relationship. Species-specific lifespan values could not be explained by traits such as reproductive season and larval diet breadth, strengthening the evidence for the dominance of physiological determinants of longevity over ecological ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Holm
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - R B Davis
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - J Javoiš
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - E Õunap
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - A Kaasik
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - F Molleman
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Vanasiri Evolutionary Ecology Group, School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.,Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France
| | - T Tammaru
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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25
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Smith G, Macias-Muñoz A, Briscoe AD. Gene Duplication and Gene Expression Changes Play a Role in the Evolution of Candidate Pollen Feeding Genes in Heliconius Butterflies. Genome Biol Evol 2016; 8:2581-96. [PMID: 27553646 PMCID: PMC5010911 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evw180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Heliconius possess a unique ability among butterflies to feed on pollen. Pollen feeding significantly extends their lifespan, and is thought to have been important to the diversification of the genus. We used RNA sequencing to examine feeding-related gene expression in the mouthparts of four species of Heliconius and one nonpollen feeding species, Eueides isabella. We hypothesized that genes involved in morphology and protein metabolism might be upregulated in Heliconius because they have longer proboscides than Eueides, and because pollen contains more protein than nectar. Using de novo transcriptome assemblies, we tested these hypotheses by comparing gene expression in mouthparts against antennae and legs. We first looked for genes upregulated in mouthparts across all five species and discovered several hundred genes, many of which had functional annotations involving metabolism of proteins (cocoonase), lipids, and carbohydrates. We then looked specifically within Heliconius where we found eleven common upregulated genes with roles in morphology (CPR cuticle proteins), behavior (takeout-like), and metabolism (luciferase-like). Closer examination of these candidates revealed that cocoonase underwent several duplications along the lineage leading to heliconiine butterflies, including two Heliconius-specific duplications. Luciferase-like genes also underwent duplication within lepidopterans, and upregulation in Heliconius mouthparts. Reverse-transcription PCR confirmed that three cocoonases, a peptidase, and one luciferase-like gene are expressed in the proboscis with little to no expression in labial palps and salivary glands. Our results suggest pollen feeding, like other dietary specializations, was likely facilitated by adaptive expansions of preexisting genes—and that the butterfly proboscis is involved in digestive enzyme production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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26
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Montgomery SH, Merrill RM, Ott SR. Brain composition inHeliconiusbutterflies, posteclosion growth and experience-dependent neuropil plasticity. J Comp Neurol 2016; 524:1747-69. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.23993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2015] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen H. Montgomery
- Department of Genetics, Evolution & Environment; University College London; London UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Panama
| | - Richard M. Merrill
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Panama
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | - Swidbert R. Ott
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour; University of Leicester; Leicester UK
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27
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The functional basis of wing patterning in Heliconius butterflies: the molecules behind mimicry. Genetics 2016; 200:1-19. [PMID: 25953905 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.114.172387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Wing-pattern mimicry in butterflies has provided an important example of adaptation since Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace proposed evolution by natural selection >150 years ago. The neotropical butterfly genus Heliconius played a central role in the development of mimicry theory and has since been studied extensively in the context of ecology and population biology, behavior, and mimicry genetics. Heliconius species are notable for their diverse color patterns, and previous crossing experiments revealed that much of this variation is controlled by a small number of large-effect, Mendelian switch loci. Recent comparative analyses have shown that the same switch loci control wing-pattern diversity throughout the genus, and a number of these have now been positionally cloned. Using a combination of comparative genetic mapping, association tests, and gene expression analyses, variation in red wing patterning throughout Heliconius has been traced back to the action of the transcription factor optix. Similarly, the signaling ligand WntA has been shown to control variation in melanin patterning across Heliconius and other butterflies. Our understanding of the molecular basis of Heliconius mimicry is now providing important insights into a variety of additional evolutionary phenomena, including the origin of supergenes, the interplay between constraint and evolvability, the genetic basis of convergence, the potential for introgression to facilitate adaptation, the mechanisms of hybrid speciation in animals, and the process of ecological speciation.
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28
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Walters JR, Hardcastle TJ, Jiggins CD. Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation in Heliconius Butterflies: Global yet Still Incomplete? Genome Biol Evol 2015; 7:2545-59. [PMID: 26338190 PMCID: PMC4607515 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evv156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of heterogametic sex chromosomes is often—but not always—accompanied by the evolution of dosage compensating mechanisms that mitigate the impact of sex-specific gene dosage on levels of gene expression. One emerging view of this process is that such mechanisms may only evolve in male-heterogametic (XY) species but not in female-heterogametic (ZW) species, which will consequently exhibit “incomplete” sex chromosome dosage compensation. However, recent results suggest that at least some Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) may prove to be an exception to this prediction. Studies in bombycoid moths indicate the presence of a chromosome-wide epigenetic mechanism that effectively balances Z chromosome gene expression between the sexes by reducing Z-linked expression in males. In contrast, strong sex chromosome dosage effects without any reduction in male Z-linked expression were previously reported in a pyralid moth, suggesting a lack of any such dosage compensating mechanism. Here we report an analysis of sex chromosome dosage compensation in Heliconius butterflies, sampling multiple individuals for several different adult tissues (head, abdomen, leg, mouth, and antennae). Methodologically, we introduce a novel application of linear mixed-effects models to assess dosage compensation, offering a unified statistical framework that can estimate effects specific to chromosome, to sex, and their interactions (i.e., a dosage effect). Our results show substantially reduced Z-linked expression relative to autosomes in both sexes, as previously observed in bombycoid moths. This observation is consistent with an increasing body of evidence that some lepidopteran species possess an epigenetic dosage compensating mechanism that reduces Z chromosome expression in males to levels comparable with females. However, this mechanism appears to be imperfect in Heliconius, resulting in a modest dosage effect that produces an average 5–20% increase in male expression relative to females on the Z chromosome, depending on the tissue. Thus our results in Heliconius reflect a mixture of previous patterns reported for Lepidoptera. In Heliconius, a moderate pattern of incomplete dosage compensation persists apparently despite the presence of an epigenetic dosage compensating mechanism. The chromosomal distributions of sex-biased genes show an excess of male-biased and a dearth of female-biased genes on the Z chromosome relative to autosomes, consistent with predictions of sexually antagonistic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Walters
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas
| | | | - Chris D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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29
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Ravenscraft A, Boggs CL. Nutrient acquisition across a dietary shift: fruit feeding butterflies crave amino acids, nectivores seek salt. Oecologia 2015; 181:1-12. [PMID: 26267402 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3403-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 07/15/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary dietary shifts have major ecological consequences. One likely consequence is a change in nutrient limitation-some nutrients become more abundant in the diet, others become more scarce. Individuals' behavior should change accordingly to match this new limitation regime: they should seek out nutrients that are deficient in the new diet. We investigated the relationship between diet and responses to nutrients using adult Costa Rican butterflies with contrasting feeding habits, testing the hypothesis that animals will respond more positively to nutrients that are scarcer in their diets. Via literature searches and our own data, we showed that nitrogen and sodium are both at lower concentration in nectar than in fruit. We therefore assessed butterflies' acceptance of sodium and four nitrogenous compounds that ranged in complexity from inorganic nitrogen (ammonium chloride) to protein (albumin). We captured wild butterflies, offered them aqueous solutions of each substance, and recorded whether they accepted (drank) or rejected each substance. Support for our hypothesis was mixed. Across the sexes, frugivores were four times more likely to accept amino acids (hydrolyzed casein) than nectivores, in opposition to expectation. In males, nectivores accepted sodium almost three times more frequently than frugivores, supporting expectations. Together, these results suggest that in butterflies, becoming frugivorous is associated with an increased receptivity to amino acids and decreased receptivity to sodium. Nectivory and frugivory are widespread feeding strategies in organisms as diverse as insects, birds, and bats; our results suggest that these feeding strategies may put different pressures on how animals fulfill their nutritional requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carol L Boggs
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
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30
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Harpel D, Cullen DA, Ott SR, Jiggins CD, Walters JR. Pollen feeding proteomics: Salivary proteins of the passion flower butterfly, Heliconius melpomene. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2015; 63:7-13. [PMID: 25958827 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Revised: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/16/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
While most adult Lepidoptera use flower nectar as their primary food source, butterflies in the genus Heliconius have evolved the novel ability to acquire amino acids from consuming pollen. Heliconius butterflies collect pollen on their proboscis, moisten the pollen with saliva, and use a combination of mechanical disruption and chemical degradation to release free amino acids that are subsequently re-ingested in the saliva. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms of this complex pollen feeding adaptation. Here we report an initial shotgun proteomic analysis of saliva from Heliconius melpomene. Results from liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry confidently identified 31 salivary proteins, most of which contained predicted signal peptides, consistent with extracellular secretion. Further bioinformatic annotation of these salivary proteins indicated the presence of four distinct functional classes: proteolysis (10 proteins), carbohydrate hydrolysis (5), immunity (6), and "housekeeping" (4). Additionally, six proteins could not be functionally annotated beyond containing a predicted signal sequence. The presence of several salivary proteases is consistent with previous demonstrations that Heliconius saliva has proteolytic capacity. It is likely that these proteins play a key role in generating free amino acids during pollen digestion. The identification of proteins functioning in carbohydrate hydrolysis is consistent with Heliconius butterflies consuming nectar, like other lepidopterans, as well as pollen. Immune-related proteins in saliva are also expected, given that ingestion of pathogens is a likely route to infection. The few "housekeeping" proteins are likely not true salivary proteins and reflect a modest level of contamination that occurred during saliva collection. Among the unannotated proteins were two sets of paralogs, each seemingly the result of a relatively recent tandem duplication. These results offer a first glimpse into the molecular foundation of Heliconius pollen feeding and provide a substantial advance towards comprehensively understanding this striking evolutionary novelty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desiree Harpel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66046, USA
| | - Darron A Cullen
- Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, Box 2465, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Swidbert R Ott
- Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Adrian Building, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Chris D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - James R Walters
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66046, USA.
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31
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Merrill RM, Dasmahapatra KK, Davey JW, Dell'Aglio DD, Hanly JJ, Huber B, Jiggins CD, Joron M, Kozak KM, Llaurens V, Martin SH, Montgomery SH, Morris J, Nadeau NJ, Pinharanda AL, Rosser N, Thompson MJ, Vanjari S, Wallbank RWR, Yu Q. The diversification of Heliconius butterflies: what have we learned in 150 years? J Evol Biol 2015; 28:1417-38. [PMID: 26079599 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Revised: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Research into Heliconius butterflies has made a significant contribution to evolutionary biology. Here, we review our understanding of the diversification of these butterflies, covering recent advances and a vast foundation of earlier work. Whereas no single group of organisms can be sufficient for understanding life's diversity, after years of intensive study, research into Heliconius has addressed a wide variety of evolutionary questions. We first discuss evidence for widespread gene flow between Heliconius species and what this reveals about the nature of species. We then address the evolution and diversity of warning patterns, both as the target of selection and with respect to their underlying genetic basis. The identification of major genes involved in mimetic shifts, and homology at these loci between distantly related taxa, has revealed a surprising predictability in the genetic basis of evolution. In the final sections, we consider the evolution of warning patterns, and Heliconius diversity more generally, within a broader context of ecological and sexual selection. We consider how different traits and modes of selection can interact and influence the evolution of reproductive isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Merrill
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | | | - J W Davey
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - D D Dell'Aglio
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - J J Hanly
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - B Huber
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK.,Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
| | - C D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - M Joron
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.,Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France.,Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier 5, France
| | - K M Kozak
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - V Llaurens
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 - CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
| | - S H Martin
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - S H Montgomery
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - J Morris
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - N J Nadeau
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - A L Pinharanda
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - N Rosser
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - M J Thompson
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - S Vanjari
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - R W R Wallbank
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Q Yu
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Shapingba District, Chongqing, China
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Haeler E, Fiedler K, Grill A. What prolongs a butterfly's life?: Trade-offs between dormancy, fecundity and body size. PLoS One 2014; 9:e111955. [PMID: 25390334 PMCID: PMC4229126 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In butterflies, life span often increases only at the expense of fecundity. Prolonged life span, on the other hand, provides more opportunities for oviposition. Here, we studied the association between life span and summer dormancy in two closely related species of Palearctic Meadow Brown butterflies, the endemic Maniola nurag and the widespread M. jurtina, from two climatic provenances, a Mediterranean and a Central European site, and tested the relationships between longevity, body size and fecundity. We experimentally induced summer dormancy and hence prolonged the butterflies’ life in order to study the effects of such a prolonged life. We were able to modulate longevity only in Mediterranean females by rearing them under summer photoperiodic conditions (light 16 h : dark 8 h), thereby more than doubling their natural life span, to up to 246 days. Central European individuals kept their natural average live span under all treatments, as did Mediterranean individuals under autumn treatment (light 11: dark 13). Body size only had a significant effect in the smaller species, M. nurag, where it affected the duration of dormancy and lifetime fecundity. In the larger species, M. jurtina, a prolonged adult life span did, surprisingly, not convey any fecundity loss. In M. nurag, which generally deposited fewer eggs, extended life had a fecundity cost. We conclude that Mediterranen M. jurtina butterflies have an extraordinary plasticity in aging which allows them to extend life span in response to adverse environmental conditions and relieve the time limitation on egg-laying while maintaining egg production at equal levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Haeler
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Konrad Fiedler
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrea Grill
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- * E-mail:
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Briscoe AD, Macias-Muñoz A, Kozak KM, Walters JR, Yuan F, Jamie GA, Martin SH, Dasmahapatra KK, Ferguson LC, Mallet J, Jacquin-Joly E, Jiggins CD. Female behaviour drives expression and evolution of gustatory receptors in butterflies. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003620. [PMID: 23950722 PMCID: PMC3732137 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Secondary plant compounds are strong deterrents of insect oviposition and feeding, but may also be attractants for specialist herbivores. These insect-plant interactions are mediated by insect gustatory receptors (Grs) and olfactory receptors (Ors). An analysis of the reference genome of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene, which feeds on passion-flower vines (Passiflora spp.), together with whole-genome sequencing within the species and across the Heliconius phylogeny has permitted an unprecedented opportunity to study the patterns of gene duplication and copy-number variation (CNV) among these key sensory genes. We report in silico gene predictions of 73 Gr genes in the H. melpomene reference genome, including putative CO2, sugar, sugar alcohol, fructose, and bitter receptors. The majority of these Grs are the result of gene duplications since Heliconius shared a common ancestor with the monarch butterfly or the silkmoth. Among Grs but not Ors, CNVs are more common within species in those gene lineages that have also duplicated over this evolutionary time-scale, suggesting ongoing rapid gene family evolution. Deep sequencing (∼1 billion reads) of transcriptomes from proboscis and labial palps, antennae, and legs of adult H. melpomene males and females indicates that 67 of the predicted 73 Gr genes and 67 of the 70 predicted Or genes are expressed in these three tissues. Intriguingly, we find that one-third of all Grs show female-biased gene expression (n = 26) and nearly all of these (n = 21) are Heliconius-specific Grs. In fact, a significant excess of Grs that are expressed in female legs but not male legs are the result of recent gene duplication. This difference in Gr gene expression diversity between the sexes is accompanied by a striking sexual dimorphism in the abundance of gustatory sensilla on the forelegs of H. melpomene, suggesting that female oviposition behaviour drives the evolution of new gustatory receptors in butterfly genomes. Insects and their chemically-defended hostplants engage in a co-evolutionary arms race but the genetic basis by which suitable host plants are identified by insects is poorly understood. Host plant specializations require specialized sensors by the insects to exploit novel ecological niches. Adult male and female Heliconius butterflies feed on nectar and, unusually for butterflies, on pollen from flowers while their larvae feed on the leaves of passion-flower vines. We have discovered–between sub-species of butterflies-fixed differences in copy-number variation among several putative sugar receptor genes that are located on different chromosomes, raising the possibility of local adaptation around the detection of sugars. We also show that the legs of adult female butterflies, which are used by females when selecting a host plant on which to lay their eggs, express more gustatory (taste) receptor genes than those of male butterflies. These female-biased taste receptors show a significantly higher level of gene duplication than a set of taste receptors expressed in both sexes. Sex-limited behaviour may therefore influence the long-term evolution of physiologically important gene families resulting in a strong genomic signature of ecological adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ADB); (CDJ)
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Krzysztof M. Kozak
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - James R. Walters
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, United States of America
| | - Furong Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Gabriel A. Jamie
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon H. Martin
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - James Mallet
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly
- INRA, UMR 1272 INRA-UPMC Physiologie de l'Insecte: Signalisation et Communication, Versailles, France
| | - Chris D. Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (ADB); (CDJ)
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Cardoso MZ, Gilbert LE. Pollen feeding, resource allocation and the evolution of chemical defence in passion vine butterflies. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:1254-60. [PMID: 23662837 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2012] [Revised: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 01/04/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Evolution of pollen feeding in Heliconius has allowed exploitation of rich amino acid sources and dramatically reorganized life-history traits. In Heliconius, eggs are produced mainly from adult-acquired resources, leaving somatic development and maintenance to larva effort. This innovation may also have spurred evolution of chemical defence via amino acid-derived cyanogenic glycosides. In contrast, nonpollen-feeding heliconiines must rely almost exclusively on larval-acquired resources for both reproduction and defence. We tested whether adult amino acid intake has an immediate influence on cyanogenesis in Heliconius. Because Heliconius are more distasteful to bird predators than close relatives that do not utilize pollen, we also compared cyanogenesis due to larval input across Heliconius species and nonpollen-feeding relatives. Except for one species, we found that varying the amino acid diet of an adult Heliconius has negligible effect on its cyanide concentration. Adults denied amino acids showed no decrease in cyanide and no adults showed cyanide increase when fed amino acids. Yet, pollen-feeding butterflies were capable of producing more defence than nonpollen-feeding relatives and differences were detectable in freshly emerged adults, before input of adult resources. Our data points to a larger role of larval input in adult chemical defence. This coupled with the compartmentalization of adult nutrition to reproduction and longevity suggests that one evolutionary consequence of pollen feeding, shifting the burden of reproduction to adults, is to allow the evolution of greater allocation of host plant amino acids to defensive compounds by larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Z Cardoso
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
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Nectar amino acids enhance reproduction in male butterflies. Oecologia 2012; 171:197-205. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2395-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/06/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Cahenzli F, Erhardt A. Enhancing offspring quality or quantity? Different ways for using nectar amino acids in female butterflies. Oecologia 2012; 169:1005-14. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2254-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2011] [Accepted: 01/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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CARROLL JUSTIN, KORSHIKOV ELENA, SHERRATT THOMASN. Post-reproductive senescence in moths as a consequence of kin selection: Blest's theory revisited. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01736.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Salcedo C. Pollen preference for Psychotria sp. is not learned in the passion flower butterfly, Heliconius erato. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2011; 11:25. [PMID: 21529151 PMCID: PMC3281357 DOI: 10.1673/031.011.0125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2010] [Accepted: 05/28/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Heliconius butterflies are known to maximize fitness by feeding on pollen from Gurania sp. and Psiguria sp. (Cucurbitales: Curcurbitaceae), and Psychotria sp. (Gentianales: Rubiaceae). This specialization involves specific physical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations including efficient search strategies in the forest to locate pollen host plants, pollen removal, and pollen external digestion. Reducing pollen host plant search time is crucial to out-compete other flower visitors and to reduce exposure to predators. One way in which this can be achieved is by using chemical cues to learn from experienced foragers in roosting aggregations. Similar strategies have been documented in bumblebees, where inexperienced individuals learn floral odors from experienced foragers. Behavioral experiments using plants preferred by Heliconius erato suggest that pollen preference in H. erato is an innate trait and consequently learning of chemical cues at roosting aggregations is unlikely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Salcedo
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
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Ray TS, Andrews CC. Antbutterflies: butterflies that follow army ants to feed on antbird droppings. Science 2010; 210:1147-8. [PMID: 17831470 DOI: 10.1126/science.210.4474.1147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Females of three species of tropical rain forest ithomiine butterflies orient to swarms of army ants (Eciton burchelli) and feed on bird droppings found there. The antbirds associated with swarm raids of these ants provide a predictable source of droppings, an otherwise sparsely distributed resource.
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Krenn HW. Feeding mechanisms of adult Lepidoptera: structure, function, and evolution of the mouthparts. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2010; 55:307-27. [PMID: 19961330 PMCID: PMC4040413 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-112408-085338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The form and function of the mouthparts in adult Lepidoptera and their feeding behavior are reviewed from evolutionary and ecological points of view. The formation of the suctorial proboscis encompasses a fluid-tight food tube, special linking structures, modified sensory equipment, and novel intrinsic musculature. The evolution of these functionally important traits can be reconstructed within the Lepidoptera. The proboscis movements are explained by a hydraulic mechanism for uncoiling, whereas recoiling is governed by the intrinsic proboscis musculature and the cuticular elasticity. Fluid uptake is accomplished by the action of the cranial sucking pump, which enables uptake of a wide range of fluid quantities from different food sources. Nectar-feeding species exhibit stereotypical proboscis movements during flower handling. Behavioral modifications and derived proboscis morphology are often associated with specialized feeding preferences or an obligatory switch to alternative food sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald W Krenn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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41
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Krenn HW, Eberhard MJB, Eberhard SH, Hikl AL, Huber W, Gilbert LE. Mechanical damage to pollen aids nutrient acquisition in Heliconius butterflies (Nymphalidae). ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS 2009; 3:203-208. [PMID: 24900162 PMCID: PMC4040415 DOI: 10.1007/s11829-009-9074-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Neotropical Heliconius and Laparus butterflies actively collect pollen onto the proboscis and extract nutrients from it. This study investigates the impact of the processing behaviour on the condition of the pollen grains. Pollen samples (n = 72) were collected from proboscides of various Heliconius species and Laparus doris in surrounding habitats of the Tropical Research Station La Gamba (Costa Rica). Examination using a light microscope revealed that pollen loads contained 74.88 ± 53.67% of damaged Psychotria pollen, 72.04 ± 23.4% of damaged Psiguria/Gurania pollen, and 21.35 ± 14.5% of damaged Lantana pollen (numbers represent median ± first quartile). Damaged pollen grains showed deformed contours, inhomogeneous and/or leaking contents, or they were empty. Experiments with Heliconius and Laparus doris from a natural population in Costa Rica demonstrated that 200 min of pollen processing behaviour significantly increased the percentage of damaged pollen of Psychotria compared to pollen from anthers (P = 0.015, Z = -2.44, Mann-Whitney U-test). Examination of pollen loads from green house reared Heliconius butterflies resulted in significantly greater amounts of damaged Psiguria pollen after 200 min of processing behaviour compared to pollen from flowers (P < 0.001, Z = -4.583, Mann-Whitney U-test). These results indicate that pollen processing functions as extra oral digestion whereby pollen grains are ruptured to make the content available for ingestion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald W Krenn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Monika J B Eberhard
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan H Eberhard
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna-Laetitia Hikl
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Werner Huber
- Department of Palynology and Structural Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lawrence E Gilbert
- Brackenridge Field Laboratory and Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Estrada C, Yildizhan S, Schulz S, Gilbert LE. Sex-specific chemical cues from immatures facilitate the evolution of mate guarding in Heliconius butterflies. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 277:407-13. [PMID: 19828544 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition for mates has substantial effects on sensory systems and often leads to the evolution of extraordinary mating behaviours in nature. The ability of males to find sexually immature females and associate with them until mating is a remarkable example. Although several aspects of such pre-copulatory mate guarding have been investigated, little is known about the mechanisms used by males to locate immature females and assess their maturity. These are not only key components of the origin and maintenance of this mating strategy, but are also necessary for inferring the level to which females cooperate and thus the incidence of sexual conflict. We investigated the cues involved in recognition of immature females in Heliconius charithonia, a butterfly that exhibits mate guarding by perching on pupae. We found that males recognized female pupae using sex-specific volatile monoterpenes produced by them towards the end of pupal development. Considering the presumed biosynthetic pathways of such compounds and the reproductive biology of Heliconius, we propose that these monoterpenes are coevolved signals and not just sex-specific cues exploited by males. Their maintenance, despite lack of female mate choice, may be explained by variation in cost that females pay with this male behaviour under heterogeneous ecological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina Estrada
- Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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43
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Molleman F, Ding J, Boggs CL, Carey JR, Arlet ME. Does dietary restriction reduce life span in male fruit-feeding butterflies? Exp Gerontol 2009; 44:601-6. [PMID: 19580860 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2009.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2008] [Revised: 06/16/2009] [Accepted: 06/25/2009] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Male life history and resource allocation is not frequently studied in aging and life span research. Here, we verify that males of long-lived fruit-feeding butterfly species have reduced longevity on restricted diets [Beck, J., 2007. The importance of amino acids in the adult diet of male tropical rainforest butterflies. Oecologia 151, 741-747], in contrast to the common finding of longevity extension in dietary restriction experiments in Drosophila and some other organisms. Males of some of the most long-lived species of fruit-feeding butterflies were collected from Kibale Forest, Uganda, and kept on diets of either sugar or mashed banana. Seven out of eight species had non-significantly longer life spans on mashed banana diets. Data analysis using a time-varying Cox-model with species as covariate showed that males had reduced survival on the sugar diet during the first 35 days of captive life, but the effect was absent or reversed at more advanced ages. These results challenge the generality of dietary restriction as a way to extend life span in animals. We argue that such studies on males are promising tools for better understanding life history evolution and aging because males display a wider variety of tactics for obtaining reproductive success than females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freerk Molleman
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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44
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EBERHARD STEFANH, NEMESCHKAL HANSL, KRENN HARALDW. Biometrical evidence for adaptations of the salivary glands to pollen feeding in Heliconius butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01243.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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45
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Cooney SJN, Olsen PD, Garnett ST. Ecology of the coprophagous mothTrisyntopa neossophilaEdwards (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2009.00691.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Molleman F, Ding J, Carey JR, Wang JL. Nutrients in fruit increase fertility in wild-caught females of large and long-lived Euphaedra species (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2009; 55:375-383. [PMID: 19186186 PMCID: PMC3388106 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2008] [Revised: 11/12/2008] [Accepted: 01/07/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Fruit-feeding butterflies can experience a more nutrient rich adult diet than nectar-feeding species, and can be expected to use these nutrients for egg production. Here we compare life span, and reproduction parameters of wild-caught females of large and long-lived species on either a sucrose or a mashed banana diet. With small sample sizes per species, but rich longitudinal data for each individual, we examined the longitudinal reproduction pattern, egg size and hatchability of these butterflies in captivity. Diet significantly affected mortality in captivity in a time-dependent manner. On average, we found that butterflies fed mashed banana laid 1.855 times more eggs than those fed sugar. They laid significantly more eggs when they laid and conserved egg size with age while butterflies fed sucrose showed significantly declining egg sizes. Egg hatchability was not significantly affected by diet. Long pre-oviposition periods, significantly smaller first eggs, and absence of age at capture effects on intensity of reproduction indicate low reproduction rates in the field that are due to low food availability. With our small sample sizes, we did not detect significant differences between the species in their response to the diet treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freerk Molleman
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jimin Ding
- Department of Mathematics, Cupples I, RM112A, Campus Box 1146, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - James R. Carey
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jane-Ling Wang
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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47
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BECK JAN, FIEDLER KONRAD. Adult life spans of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea + Hesperioidea): broadscale contingencies with adult and larval traits in multi-species comparisons. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01102.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Molleman F, Ding J, Wang JL, Zwaan BJ, Carey JR, Brakefield PM. Adult diet affects lifespan and reproduction of the fruit-feeding butterfly Charaxes fulvescens. ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA 2008; 129:54-65. [PMID: 19774093 PMCID: PMC2747111 DOI: 10.1111/j.1570-7458.2008.00752.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Fruit-feeding butterflies are among the longest lived Lepidoptera. While the use of pollen-derived amino acids by Heliconius butterflies has been interpreted as important for the evolution of extended lifespans, very little is known about the life-history consequences of frugivory. This issue is addressed by investigating effects of four adult diets (sugar, sugar with amino acids, banana, and moistened banana) on lifespan and reproduction in the fruit-feeding butterfly Charaxes fulvescens Aurivillius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Female butterflies were collected from Kibale National Park, Uganda, and kept individually in cages near their natural habitat and data were collected on lifespan, oviposition, and hatching of eggs. Lifespan in captivity was longer for the sugar and the amino acid cohort, than for the banana cohorts. The longitudinal pattern of oviposition was erratic, with many days without oviposition and few periods with high numbers of eggs laid. Butterflies typically did not lay eggs during their 1st week in captivity and the length of the period between capture and first reproduction was significantly shorter for butterflies fed moistened banana. The length of the reproduction period (first reproduction-last reproduction in captivity) and the reproduction rate (total number of eggs/length of the reproduction period) did not differ significantly between the diet treatments. Those fed with amino acid and moistened banana had significantly higher egg hatchability than those fed with sugar and banana. We found no evidence for a lifespan cost of reproduction. Our results show that (1) female C. fulvescens can use amino acids in their diet for laying fertile eggs, (2) more wing-wear does correlate with lower survival in captivity (indicating aging in the wild), but not with intensity of reproduction (providing no evidence for reproductive aging), and (3) fruit-feeding butterflies may be dietary restricted in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freerk Molleman
- Department of Entomology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jimin Ding
- Department of Statistics, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Mathematics, Washington University, Cupples I, Room 112A, Campus Box 1146, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Jane-Ling Wang
- Department of Statistics, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Bas J. Zwaan
- Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - James R. Carey
- Department of Entomology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Paul M. Brakefield
- Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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Dierks A, Fischer K. Feeding responses and food preferences in the tropical, fruit-feeding butterfly, Bicyclus anynana. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2008; 54:1363-1370. [PMID: 18706418 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2008.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2008] [Revised: 07/08/2008] [Accepted: 07/21/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana (Nymphalidae) essential components of fitness (such as fecundity and longevity) depend to a large degree on exogenous adult-derived nutrients, particularly carbohydrates. We investigated which of the nutrients/compounds found in the adult diet act as feeding stimuli, and whether butterflies show preferences for particular nutrients or combinations. Only sugars and alcohols acted as feeding stimuli, the highest responses being found for sucrose, glucose, ethanol, butanol and propanol. Various other compounds (e.g. amino acids, acetic acid, vitamins, lipids, salts, and yeast) did not elicit any probing or feeding responses. Behavioural tests revealed a clear preference hierarchy for sugars (sucrose>glucose>fructose>maltose), but not for alcohols. Butterflies did not discriminate between sucrose solutions enriched with different nutrients and plain sucrose solutions, although they showed a preference for acetic acid and an aversion to salts and ascorbic acid when offered in combination with sucrose. Throughout, both sexes showed very similar patterns. We conclude that locating carbohydrate sources seems sufficient to cover all the butterflies' nutritional needs, while alcohols function primarily as long range signals, guiding the butterflies to food sources. Thus, fruit-feeding butterflies, in contrast to nectar-feeding butterflies, appear not to have distinctive preferences for e.g. amino acids or salts, but do share a common primary preference for sucrose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke Dierks
- Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Str. 11/12, D-17489 Greifswald, Germany.
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Teder T, Tammaru T, Esperk T. Dependence of phenotypic variance in body size on environmental quality. Am Nat 2008; 172:223-32. [PMID: 18588427 DOI: 10.1086/589896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The recent "overhead threshold" model for optimal age and body size at maturity (Day and Rowe 2002 ) predicts that phenotypic variability in adult body size will be low under inferior environmental quality and will increase with improving conditions. The model is, however, based on a potentially restrictive assumption of a monotone increase of fecundity with increasing body size. On the basis of a numerical model, we show that introducing the concept of maximum adult body size changes the predictions of the model. The dependence of variability in adult body size on environmental quality becomes a concave function with a maximum at intermediate values. Depending on the range of environmental conditions considered, one may therefore expect to observe both increasing and decreasing functions. We test the predictions of our model on a literature-based database of 131 insect species covering all major orders. We demonstrate that, in most species, relative phenotypic variation in body size decreases when environment-specific average of adult body size increases. In the majority of cases at least, such a relationship can be interpreted as a decreased relative variation in better growing conditions. With some potentially meaningful exceptions (e.g., females of capital-breeding insects), the general pattern was largely invariable across different taxa, ecological subdivisions, and sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiit Teder
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014 Tartu, Estonia.
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