1
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Miyakawa MO, Miyakawa H. Transformer gene regulates feminization under two complementary sex determination loci in the ant, Vollenhovia emeryi. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 156:103938. [PMID: 37028496 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.103938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Organisms that reproduce sexually have evolved well-organized mechanisms to determine two sexes. Some hymenopterans (such as ants, bees, and wasps) have a complementary sex-determination system in which heterozygosity at one CSD locus induces female development, whereas hemi- or homozygosity at the locus induces male development. This system can generate a high cost of inbreeding, as individuals that are homozygous at the locus become sterile, diploid males. On the other hand, some hymenopterans have evolved a multi-locus, complementary, sex-determination system in which heterozygosity in at least one CSD locus induces female development. This system effectively reduces the proportion of sterile diploid males; however, how these multiple
primary signals based on CSD pass through a molecular cascade to regulate downstream genes has remained unclear. To clarify this matter, we used a backcross to investigate the molecular cascade in the ant, Vollenhovia emeryi, with two CSD loci. Here we show by gene disruption that transformer (tra) is necessary for proper feminization. Expression analysis of tra and doublesex (dsx) showed that heterozygosity in at least one of the two CSD loci is sufficient to promote female sex determination. Analysis of overexpression suggested that female-type Tra protein promotes splicing of tra pre-mRNA to female isoform by a positive-regulatory-feedback loop. Our data also showed that tra affects splicing of dsx. We conclude that two-loci sex determination system in V. emeryi evolved based on tra-dsx splicing cascade that is well conserved in other insect species. Finally, we suggest a cascade model to arrive at a binary determination of sex under multiple primary signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misato Okamoto Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, 350, Minemachi, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, 321-8505, Japan.
| | - Hitoshi Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, 350, Minemachi, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, 321-8505, Japan
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2
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Chen F, Schenkel M, Geuverink E, van de Zande L, Beukeboom LW. Absence of complementary sex determination in two Leptopilina species (Figitidae, Hymenoptera) and a reconsideration of its incompatibility with endosymbiont-induced thelytoky. INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 29:900-914. [PMID: 34525260 PMCID: PMC9297927 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Complementary sex determination (CSD) is a widespread sex determination mechanism in haplodiploid Hymenoptera. Under CSD, sex is determined by the allelic state of one or multiple CSD loci. Heterozygosity at one or more loci leads to female development, whereas hemizygosity of haploid eggs and homozygosity of diploid eggs results in male development. Sexual (arrhenotokous) reproduction normally yields haploid male and diploid female offspring. Under asexual reproduction (thelytoky), diploidized unfertilized eggs develop into females. Thelytoky is often induced by bacterial endosymbionts that achieve egg diploidization by gamete duplication. As gamete duplication leads to complete homozygosity, endosymbiont-induced thelytokous reproduction is presumed to be incompatible with CSD, which relies on heterozygosity for female development. Previously, we excluded CSD in four Asobara (Braconidae) species and proposed a two-step mechanism for Wolbachia-induced thelytoky in Asobara japonica. Here, we conclusively reject CSD in two cynipid wasp species, Leptopilina heterotoma and Leptopilina clavipes. We further show that thelytoky in L. clavipes depends on Wolbachia titer but that diploidization and feminization steps cannot be separated, unlike in A. japonica. We discuss what these results reveal about the sex determination mechanism of L. clavipes and the presumed incompatibility between CSD and endosymbiont-induced thelytoky in the Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangying Chen
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenP.O. Box 11103Groningen9700 CCthe Netherlands
| | - Martijn Schenkel
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenP.O. Box 11103Groningen9700 CCthe Netherlands
| | - Elzemiek Geuverink
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenP.O. Box 11103Groningen9700 CCthe Netherlands
| | - Louis van de Zande
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenP.O. Box 11103Groningen9700 CCthe Netherlands
| | - Leo W. Beukeboom
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenP.O. Box 11103Groningen9700 CCthe Netherlands
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3
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Zhou Y, Yang P, Xie S, Shi M, Huang J, Wang Z, Chen X. Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Sex-Based Differences during the Development of the Adult Parasitic Wasp Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12060896. [PMID: 34200644 PMCID: PMC8228208 DOI: 10.3390/genes12060896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The endoparasitic wasp Cotesia vestalis is an important biological agent for controlling the population of Plutella xylostella, a major pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. Though the genome of C. vestalis has recently been reported, molecular mechanisms associated with sexual development have not been comprehensively studied. Here, we combined PacBio Iso-Seq and Illumina RNA-Seq to perform genome-wide profiling of pharate adult and adult development of male and female C. vestalis. Taking advantage of Iso-Seq full-length reads, we identified 14,466 novel transcripts as well as 8770 lncRNAs, with many lncRNAs showing a sex- and stage-specific expression pattern. The differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses showed 2125 stage-specific and 326 sex-specific expressed genes. We also found that 4819 genes showed 11,856 alternative splicing events through combining the Iso-Seq and RNA-Seq data. The results of comparative analyses showed that most genes were alternatively spliced across developmental stages, and alternative splicing (AS) events were more prevalent in females than in males. Furthermore, we identified six sex-determining genes in this parasitic wasp and verified their sex-specific alternative splicing profiles. Specifically, the characterization of feminizer and doublesex splicing between male and female implies a conserved regulation mechanism of sexual development in parasitic wasps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuenan Zhou
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Pei Yang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Shuang Xie
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Min Shi
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Jianhua Huang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhizhi Wang
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Correspondence: (Z.W.); (X.C.)
| | - Xuexin Chen
- Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.Z.); (P.Y.); (S.X.); (M.S.); (J.H.)
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Correspondence: (Z.W.); (X.C.)
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4
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Matthey-Doret C, van der Kooi CJ, Jeffries DL, Bast J, Dennis AB, Vorburger C, Schwander T. Mapping of Multiple Complementary Sex Determination Loci in a Parasitoid Wasp. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 11:2954-2962. [PMID: 31596478 PMCID: PMC6821247 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination has evolved in a variety of ways and can depend on environmental and genetic signals. A widespread form of genetic sex determination is haplodiploidy, where unfertilized, haploid eggs develop into males and fertilized diploid eggs into females. One of the molecular mechanisms underlying haplodiploidy in Hymenoptera, the large insect order comprising ants, bees, and wasps, is complementary sex determination (CSD). In species with CSD, heterozygosity at one or several loci induces female development. Here, we identify the genomic regions putatively underlying multilocus CSD in the parasitoid wasp Lysiphlebus fabarum using restriction-site associated DNA sequencing. By analyzing segregation patterns at polymorphic sites among 331 diploid males and females, we identify up to four CSD candidate regions, all on different chromosomes. None of the candidate regions feature evidence for homology with the csd gene from the honey bee, the only species in which CSD has been characterized, suggesting that CSD in L. fabarum is regulated via a novel molecular mechanism. Moreover, no homology is shared between the candidate loci, in contrast to the idea that multilocus CSD should emerge from duplications of an ancestral single-locus system. Taken together, our results suggest that the molecular mechanisms underlying CSD in Hymenoptera are not conserved between species, raising the question as to whether CSD may have evolved multiple times independently in the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril Matthey-Doret
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Genomes and Genetics, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Casper J van der Kooi
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Daniel L Jeffries
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jens Bast
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alice B Dennis
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.,Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Christoph Vorburger
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Tanja Schwander
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
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5
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Asplen MK. Proximate Drivers of Migration and Dispersal in Wing-Monomorphic Insects. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11010061. [PMID: 31963745 PMCID: PMC7022453 DOI: 10.3390/insects11010061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Gains in our knowledge of dispersal and migration in insects have been largely limited to either wing-dimorphic species or current genetic model systems. Species belonging to these categories, however, represent only a tiny fraction of insect biodiversity, potentially making generalization problematic. In this perspective, I present three topics in which current and future research may lead to greater knowledge of these processes in wing-monomorphic insects with limited existing molecular tools. First, threshold genetic models are reviewed as testable hypotheses for the heritability of migratory traits, using the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) as a case study of a behaviorally-polymorphic migratory species lacking morphological or physiological differentiation. In addition, both adaptive and non-adaptive explanations for the empirically variable relationship between egg production and flight in wing-monomorphic insects are discussed. Finally, with respect to the largest order of insects (Hymenoptera), the role of sex determination mechanisms for haplodiploidy as a driver for natal dispersal (for inbreeding avoidance) versus philopatry (such as in local mate competition) is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark K Asplen
- Natural Sciences Department, Metropolitan State University, Saint Paul, MN 55106, USA
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6
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Collet M, Amat I, Sauzet S, Auguste A, Fauvergue X, Mouton L, Desouhant E. Insects and incest: Sib-mating tolerance in natural populations of a parasitoid wasp. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:596-609. [PMID: 31850599 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sib-mating avoidance is a pervasive behaviour that is expected to evolve in species subject to inbreeding depression. Although laboratory studies provide elegant demonstrations, small-scaled bioassays minimize the costs of mate finding and choice, and thus may produce spurious findings. We therefore combined laboratory experiments with field observations to examine the existence of inbreeding avoidance using the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens. In the laboratory, our approach consisted of mate-choice experiments to assess kin discrimination in population cages with competitive interactions. A higher mating probability after sib rejections suggested that females could discriminate their sibs; however, in contrast to previous findings, sib-mating avoidance was not observed. To compare our laboratory results to field data, we captured 241 individuals from two populations. Females laid eggs in the lab, and 226 daughters were obtained. All individuals were genotyped at 18 microsatellite loci, which allowed inference of the genotype of each female's mate and subsequently the relatedness within each mating pair. We found that the observed rate of sib-mating did not differ from the probability that sibs encountered one another at random in the field, which is consistent with an absence of sib-mating avoidance. In addition, we detected a weak but significant male-biased dispersal, which could reduce encounters between sibs. We also found weak fitness costs associated with sib-mating. As such, the sex-biased dispersal that we found is probably sufficient to mitigate these costs. These results imply that kin discrimination has probably evolved for purposes other than mate choice, such as superparasitism avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Collet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Isabelle Amat
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Sandrine Sauzet
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | | | | | - Laurence Mouton
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Emmanuel Desouhant
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Univ Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
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7
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McAfee A, Pettis JS, Tarpy DR, Foster LJ. Feminizer and doublesex knock-outs cause honey bees to switch sexes. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000256. [PMID: 31059510 PMCID: PMC6522059 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees are experts at refuting societal norms. Their matriarchal hives are headed by queens, backed by an all-female workforce, and males die soon after copulation. But the biochemical basis of how these distinct castes and sexes (queens, workers, and drones) arise is poorly understood, partly due to a lack of efficient tools for genetic manipulation. Now, Roth and colleagues have used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) to knock out two key genes (feminizer and doublesex) that guide sexual development. Their technique yielded remarkably low rates of genetic mosaicism and offers a promising tool for engineering and phenotyping bees for diverse applications. This Primer explores the implications of a new study that uses CRISPR gene editing to investigate genetic switches controlling sex determination in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison McAfee
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jeffery S. Pettis
- Pettis and Associates, Salisbury, Maryland, United States of America
| | - David R. Tarpy
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Leonard J. Foster
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- * E-mail:
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8
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Miyakawa MO, Miyakawa H. Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 30346399 DOI: 10.3791/58521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic and molecular components of the sex-determination cascade have been extensively studied in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, a hymenopteran model organism. However, little is known about the sex-determination mechanisms found in other non-model hymenopteran taxa, such as ants. Because of the complex nature of the life cycles that have evolved in hymenopteran species, it is difficult to maintain and conduct experimental crosses between these organisms in the laboratory. Here, we describe the methods for conducting inbreeding crosses and for evaluating the success of those crosses in ant Vollenhovia emeryi. Inducing inbreeding in the laboratory using V. emeryi, is relatively simple because of the unique biology of the species. Specifically, this species produces androgenetic males, and female reproductives exhibit wing polymorphism, which simplifies identification of the phenotypes in genetic crosses. In addition, evaluating the success of inbreeding is straightforward as males can be produced continuously by inbreeding crosses, while normal males only appear during a well-defined reproductive season in the field. Our protocol allow for using V. emeryi as a model to investigate the genetic and molecular basis of the sex determination system in ant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misato O Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University;
| | - Hitoshi Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University;
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9
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Nair A, Nonaka E, van Nouhuys S. Increased fluctuation in a butterfly metapopulation leads to diploid males and decline of a hyperparasitoid. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0372. [PMID: 30135149 PMCID: PMC6125898 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change can increase spatial synchrony of population dynamics, leading to large-scale fluctuation that destabilizes communities. High trophic level species such as parasitoids are disproportionally affected because they depend on unstable resources. Most parasitoid wasps have complementary sex determination, producing sterile males when inbred, which can theoretically lead to population extinction via the diploid male vortex (DMV). We examined this process empirically using a hyperparasitoid population inhabiting a spatially structured host population in a large fragmented landscape. Over four years of high host butterfly metapopulation fluctuation, diploid male production by the wasp increased, and effective population size declined precipitously. Our multitrophic spatially structured model shows that host population fluctuation can cause local extinctions of the hyperparasitoid because of the DMV. However, regionally it persists because spatial structure allows for efficient local genetic rescue via balancing selection for rare alleles carried by immigrants. This is, to our knowledge, the first empirically based study of the possibility of the DMV in a natural host–parasitoid system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhilash Nair
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Etsuko Nonaka
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 114 18, Sweden
| | - Saskya van Nouhuys
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland .,Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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10
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Miyakawa MO, Tsuchida K, Miyakawa H. The doublesex gene integrates multi-locus complementary sex determination signals in the Japanese ant, Vollenhovia emeryi. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 94:42-49. [PMID: 29408414 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2018.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
A female diploid, male haploid sex determination system (haplodiploidy) is found in hymenopteran taxa, such as ants, wasps, bees and sawflies. In this system, a single, complementary sex-determination (sl-CSD) locus functions as the primary sex-determination signal. In the taxa that has evolved this system, females and males are heterozygous and hemi/homozygous at the CSD locus, respectively. While the sl-CSD system enables females to alter sex ratios in the nest, it carries a high cost in terms of inbreeding, as individuals that are homozygous at the CSD locus become sterile diploid males. To counter this risk, some of hymenopteran species have evolved a multi-locus CSD (ml-CSD) system, which effectively reduces the proportion of sterile males. However, the mechanism by which these multiple primary signals are integrated and how they affect the terminal sex-differentiation signal of the molecular cascade have not yet been clarified. To resolve these questions, we examined the molecular cascade in the Japanese ant Vollenhovia emeryi, which we previously confirmed has two CSD loci. Here, we showed that the sex-determination gene, doublesex (dsx), which is highly conserved among phylogenetically distant taxa, is responsible for integrating two CSD signals in V. emeryi. After identifying and characterizing dsx, genotypes containing two CSD loci and splicing patterns of dsx were found to correspond to the sexual phenotype, suggesting that two primary signals are integrated into dsx. These findings will facilitate future molecular and functional studies of the sex determination cascade in V. emeryi, and shed light on the evolution and diversification of sex determination systems in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misato Okamoto Miyakawa
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan; Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, 350, Minemachi, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan.
| | - Koji Tsuchida
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Miyakawa
- Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, 350, Minemachi, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan
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11
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Whitfield JB, Austin AD, Fernandez-Triana JL. Systematics, Biology, and Evolution of Microgastrine Parasitoid Wasps. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 63:389-406. [PMID: 29058979 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The braconid parasitoid wasp subfamily Microgastrinae is perhaps the most species-rich subfamily of animals on Earth. Despite their small size, they are familiar to agriculturalists and field ecologists alike as one of the principal groups of natural enemies of caterpillars feeding on plants. Their abundance and nearly ubiquitous terrestrial distribution, their intricate interactions with host insects, and their historical association with mutualistic polydnaviruses have all contributed to Microgastrinae becoming a key group of organisms for studying parasitism, parasitoid genomics, and mating biology. However, these rich sources of data have not yet led to a robust genus-level classification of the group, and some taxonomic confusion persists as a result. We present the current status of understanding of the general biology, taxonomic history, diversity, geographical patterns, host relationships, and phylogeny of Microgastrinae as a stimulus and foundation for further study. Current progress in elucidating the biology and taxonomy of this important group is rapid and promises a revolution in the classification of these wasps in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- James B Whitfield
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA;
| | - Andrew D Austin
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia;
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12
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Weis JJ, Ode PJ, Heimpel GE. Balancing selection maintains sex determining alleles in multiple‐locus complementary sex determination. Evolution 2017; 71:1246-1257. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jerome J. Weis
- Department of Entomology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108
| | - Paul J. Ode
- Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado 80523
| | - George E. Heimpel
- Department of Entomology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108
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13
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Harper KE, Bagley RK, Thompson KL, Linnen CR. Complementary sex determination, inbreeding depression and inbreeding avoidance in a gregarious sawfly. Heredity (Edinb) 2016; 117:326-335. [PMID: 27381325 PMCID: PMC5061915 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2016.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2015] [Revised: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 05/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although most Hymenoptera reproduce via arrhenotokous haplodiploidy, the underlying genetic mechanisms vary. Of these, the most widespread mechanism appears to be single-locus complementary sex determination (sl-CSD), in which individuals that are diploid and heterozygous at a sex-determining locus are female, and individuals that are homozygous or hemizygous are male. Because inbreeding increases the probability of producing diploid males, which are often sterile or inviable, sl-CSD can generate substantial inbreeding depression. To counteract this, Hymenoptera with traits that promote inbreeding, such as gregariousness, may evolve one or more of the following: inbreeding avoidance, functional diploid males or alternative sex determination mechanisms. Here, we investigate sex determination, inbreeding depression and inbreeding avoidance in Neodiprion lecontei, a gregarious, pine-feeding sawfly in the family Diprionidae. First, via inbreeding experiments and flow cytometry, we demonstrate that this species has CSD. By modeling expected sex ratios under different conditions, we also show that our data are consistent with sl-CSD. Second, via tracking survival in inbred and outbred families, we demonstrate that inbred families have reduced larval survival and that this mortality is partly attributable to the death of diploid males. Third, using a no-choice mating assay, we demonstrate that females are less willing to mate with siblings than nonsiblings. Together, these results suggest that inbreeding depression stemming from CSD has shaped mating behavior in N. lecontei. These results also set the stage for future comparative work that will investigate the interplay between sex determination, ecology and behavior in additional diprionid species that vary in larval gregariousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Harper
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - R K Bagley
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - K L Thompson
- Department of Statistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - C R Linnen
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
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14
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Trevisan M, De Bortoli SA, Vacari AM, Laurentis VL, Ramalho DG. Quality of the Exotic Parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Does Not Show Deleterious Effects after Inbreeding for 10 Generations. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0160898. [PMID: 27509087 PMCID: PMC4979891 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the parasitoid Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) has proven effective in controlling sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) for many years, concern has arisen over the quality of individuals produced at large scales. The parasitoid has been reared in laboratories in Brazil for more than 40 years, with no new introductions of new populations during that period. Since the quality of the parasitoids was not verified at the time of the species' introduction in Brazil, we do not know if there has been any reduction in quality so far. However, it is possible to determine whether the parasitoid could reduce in quality in future generations. Thus, the objective of this research was to assess the quality of these insects over 10 generations and look for evidence of any loss in quality. We used two populations: one from a biofactory that has been maintained in the laboratory for over 40 years, and an inbred laboratory population. Both were bred, and compared for 10 generations. We wanted to determine what happened to the quality of the parasitoid after 10 generations in an extreme inbreeding situation. To assure inbreeding, newly emerged females were forced to mate with a sibling. Individual females were then allowed to parasitize larvae of D. saccharalis. We performed evaluations for each generation until the tenth generation, and recorded the sex ratio, percentage emergence, number of offspring/females, and longevity of both males and females. Results of the measurements of biological characteristics demonstrated random significant differences between populations; best results were obtained intermittently for both the biofactory population and the inbred population. No significant differences across generations for the same population were observed. Thus, rearing of a C. flavipes population subjected to inbreeding for 10 generations was not sufficient to reveal any deleterious effects of inbreeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maíra Trevisan
- Laboratory of Biology and Insect Rearing (LBIR), Department of Plant Protection, São Paulo State University—FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sergio A. De Bortoli
- Laboratory of Biology and Insect Rearing (LBIR), Department of Plant Protection, São Paulo State University—FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Alessandra M. Vacari
- Laboratory of Biology and Insect Rearing (LBIR), Department of Plant Protection, São Paulo State University—FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Valéria L. Laurentis
- Laboratory of Biology and Insect Rearing (LBIR), Department of Plant Protection, São Paulo State University—FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Dagmara G. Ramalho
- Department of Biology, São Paulo University–USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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15
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Miyakawa MO, Mikheyev AS. QTL Mapping of Sex Determination Loci Supports an Ancient Pathway in Ants and Honey Bees. PLoS Genet 2015; 11:e1005656. [PMID: 26544972 PMCID: PMC4636138 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination mechanisms play a central role in life-history characteristics, affecting mating systems, sex ratios, inbreeding tolerance, etc. Downstream components of sex determination pathways are highly conserved, but upstream components evolve rapidly. Evolutionary dynamics of sex determination remain poorly understood, particularly because mechanisms appear so diverse. Here we investigate the origins and evolution of complementary sex determination (CSD) in ants and bees. The honey bee has a well-characterized CSD locus, containing tandemly arranged homologs of the transformer gene [complementary sex determiner (csd) and feminizer (fem)]. Such tandem paralogs appear frequently in aculeate hymenopteran genomes. However, only comparative genomic, but not functional, data support a broader role for csd/fem in sex determination, and whether species other than the honey bee use this pathway remains controversial. Here we used a backcross to test whether csd/fem acts as a CSD locus in an ant (Vollenhovia emeryi). After sequencing and assembling the genome, we computed a linkage map, and conducted a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of diploid male production using 68 diploid males and 171 workers. We found two QTLs on separate linkage groups (CsdQTL1 and CsdQTL2) that jointly explained 98.0% of the phenotypic variance. CsdQTL1 included two tandem transformer homologs. These data support the prediction that the same CSD mechanism has indeed been conserved for over 100 million years. CsdQTL2 had no similarity to CsdQTL1 and included a 236-kb region with no obvious CSD gene candidates, making it impossible to conclusively characterize it using our data. The sequence of this locus was conserved in at least one other ant genome that diverged >75 million years ago. By applying QTL analysis to ants for the first time, we support the hypothesis that elements of hymenopteran CSD are ancient, but also show that more remains to be learned about the diversity of CSD mechanisms. Whether a developing embryo becomes male or female has significant downstream consequences. Depending on the species, sex can be determined by a wide variety of mechanisms. Sex determination systems can evolve rapidly, but how this occurs, and even how widespread the same mechanism is within a given taxonomic group, remains largely unknown. By experimentally mapping the sex determination architecture in the ant, Vollenhovia emeryi, we found that the well-characterized honey bee sex determination locus originated more than 100 million years ago. However, we also found an additional locus that has no homology to the first. Currently uncharacterized, this locus suggests that different species may use a variety of complementary sex determination mechanisms. Yet, core elements of the complementary sex determination machinery appear to be ancient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misato O. Miyakawa
- Ecology and Evolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Tancha, Onna-son, Japan
| | - Alexander S. Mikheyev
- Ecology and Evolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Tancha, Onna-son, Japan
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- * E-mail:
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16
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de Boer JG, Groenen MAM, Pannebakker BA, Beukeboom LW, Kraus RHS. Population-level consequences of complementary sex determination in a solitary parasitoid. BMC Evol Biol 2015; 15:98. [PMID: 26025754 PMCID: PMC4461988 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0340-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Accepted: 03/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sex determination mechanisms are known to be evolutionarily labile but the factors driving transitions in sex determination mechanisms are poorly understood. All insects of the Hymenoptera are haplodiploid, with males normally developing from unfertilized haploid eggs. Under complementary sex determination (CSD), diploid males can be produced from fertilized eggs that are homozygous at the sex locus. Diploid males have near-zero fitness and thus represent a genetic load, which is especially severe under inbreeding. Here, we study mating structure and sex determination in the parasitoid Cotesia vestalis to investigate what may have driven the evolution of two complementary sex determination loci in this species. Results We genotyped Cotesia vestalis females collected from eight fields in four townships in Western Taiwan. 98 SNP markers were developed by aligning Illumina sequence reads of pooled DNA of eight different females against a de novo assembled genome of C. vestalis. This proved to be an efficient method for this non-model species and provides a resource for future use in related species. We found significant genetic differentiation within the sampled population but variation could not be attributed to sampling locations by AMOVA. Non-random mating was detected, with 8.1% of matings between siblings. Diploid males, detected by flow cytometry, were produced at a rate of 1.4% among diploids. Conclusions We think that the low rate of diploid male production is best explained by a CSD system with two independent sex loci, supporting laboratory findings on the same species. Fitness costs of diploid males in C. vestalis are high because diploid males can mate with females and produce infertile triploid offspring. This severe fitness cost of diploid males combined with non-random mating may have resulted in evolution from single locus CSD to CSD with two independent loci. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0340-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jetske G de Boer
- Evolutionary Genetics, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands. .,Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Martien A M Groenen
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Bart A Pannebakker
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Leo W Beukeboom
- Evolutionary Genetics, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Robert H S Kraus
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany. .,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany.
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17
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Carabajal Paladino L, Muntaabski I, Lanzavecchia S, Le Bagousse-Pinguet Y, Viscarret M, Juri M, Fueyo-Sánchez L, Papeschi A, Cladera J, Bressa MJ. Complementary sex determination in the parasitic wasp Diachasmimorpha longicaudata. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0119619. [PMID: 25789748 PMCID: PMC4366257 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied the sex determination in Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, a parasitoid braconid wasp widely used as biological control agent of fruit pest tephritid flies. We tested the complementary sex determination hypothesis (CSD) known in at least 60 species of Hymenoptera. According to CSD, male or female development depends on the allelic composition of one sex locus (single-locus CSD) or multiple sex loci (multiple-locus CSD). Hemizygote individuals are normal haploid males, and heterozygotes for at least one sex locus are normal diploid females, but homozygotes for all the sex loci are diploid males. In order to force the occurrence of diploid males in D. longicaudata, we established highly inbred lines and examined their offspring using chromosome counting, flow cytometry, and sex ratio analysis. We found that when mother-son crosses were studied, this wasp produced about 20% of diploid males out of the total male progeny. Our results suggest that this parasitoid may represent the second genus with multiple-locus CSD in Hymenoptera. Knowledge about the sex determination system in D. longicaudata is relevant for the improvement of mass rearing protocols of this species. This information also provides the necessary background for further investigations on the underlying molecular mechanisms of sex determination in this species, and a better insight into the evolution of this pathway in Hymenoptera in particular and insects in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonela Carabajal Paladino
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Instituto de Genética “Ewald A Favret,” Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Irina Muntaabski
- Instituto de Genética “Ewald A Favret,” Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
| | - Silvia Lanzavecchia
- Instituto de Genética “Ewald A Favret,” Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
| | | | - Mariana Viscarret
- Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
| | - Marianela Juri
- Instituto de Genética “Ewald A Favret,” Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Luciana Fueyo-Sánchez
- Instituto de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján, Argentina
| | - Alba Papeschi
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jorge Cladera
- Instituto de Genética “Ewald A Favret,” Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Hurlingham, Argentina
| | - María José Bressa
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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18
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Boff S, Soro A, Paxton RJ, Alves-dos-Santos I. Island isolation reduces genetic diversity and connectivity but does not significantly elevate diploid male production in a neotropical orchid bee. CONSERV GENET 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-014-0605-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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19
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Thiel A, Weeda AC. Haploid, diploid, and triploid--discrimination ability against polyploid mating partner in the parasitic wasp, Bracon brevicornis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2014; 14:ieu153. [PMID: 25527596 PMCID: PMC5657901 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 08/21/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Because the quality of mating partners varies, females of several taxa have evolved the ability to discriminate against low-quality mates. Although males in the Hymenoptera are usually haploid, diploid males may occur in species with complementary sex determination. Diploid males are almost always sterile in most of the species studied so far. They are thus of very low quality as mating partners, especially when females mate only once in life. We hypothesize that hymenopteran females might have evolved the ability to discriminate against infertile diploid males and avoid mating with them. To test this hypothesis, we studied diploid male fitness in the parasitoid wasp Bracon brevicornis Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) by measuring survival rate and fertility and then estimated their chances of actually mating with a female. Flow cytometry was used to determine the ploidy level of wasps. The fitness costs of mating a diploid male are indeed high in this species: only 15% were able to sire daughters, of which 97% were triploid and hardly able to produce viable offspring. In contrast to the hypothesis of unsuitable mate discrimination though, no evidence was found for increased rejection of diploid males by females. Male discrimination against an unsuitable partner did also not occur: triploid females elicited the same intensity of courtship behavior in males than did diploid ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andra Thiel
- Population & Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, University of Bremen, FB 2, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Anne C Weeda
- Population & Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology, University of Bremen, FB 2, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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20
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Geuverink E, Beukeboom LW. Phylogenetic distribution and evolutionary dynamics of the sex determination genes doublesex and transformer in insects. Sex Dev 2013; 8:38-49. [PMID: 24401160 DOI: 10.1159/000357056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination in insects is characterized by a gene cascade that is conserved at the bottom but contains diverse primary signals at the top. The bottom master switch gene doublesex is found in all insects. Its upstream regulator transformer is present in the orders Hymenoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera, but has thus far not been found in Lepidoptera and in the basal lineages of Diptera. transformer is presumed to be ancestral to the holometabolous insects based on its shared domains and conserved features of autoregulation and sex-specific splicing. We interpret that its absence in basal lineages of Diptera and its order-specific conserved domains indicate multiple independent losses or recruitments into the sex determination cascade. Duplications of transformer are found in derived families within the Hymenoptera, characterized by their complementary sex determination mechanism. As duplications are not found in any other insect order, they appear linked to the haplodiploid reproduction of the Hymenoptera. Further phylogenetic analyses combined with functional studies are needed to understand the evolutionary history of the transformer gene among insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Geuverink
- Evolutionary Genetics, Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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21
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Vorburger C. Thelytoky and sex determination in the hymenoptera: mutual constraints. Sex Dev 2013; 8:50-8. [PMID: 24335186 DOI: 10.1159/000356508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Hymenoptera show a high propensity for transitions from arrhenotokous reproduction (diploid females develop from fertilized eggs, haploid males from unfertilized eggs) to thelytokous reproduction (diploid females develop from unfertilized eggs). However, the evolution of thelytoky is frequently constrained by the sex determination system. Under the ancestral system, complementary sex determination (CSD), the constraint results from the production of diploid males by thelytokous females. The magnitude of this constraint depends on the cytological mechanism of thelytoky, determining the rate at which thelytokous lines lose heterozygosity and on whether a single locus or multiple loci are involved in CSD. In this review, it is discussed how diploid male production in the case of CSD or other constraints in the case of alternative sex determination systems may impede transitions to thelytoky, but it is also shown that under particular (and presumably rare) circumstances the production of diploid males will promote rather than hamper the evolution of thelytoky. Furthermore, constraints between the evolution of thelytoky and sex determination may be mutual, because once thelytoky has evolved, it can impact on sex determination. Finally, researchers are encouraged to exploit the frequent occurrence of thelytoky as an opportunity to learn more about the mechanisms of sex determination in the Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Vorburger
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, and EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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22
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Ma WJ, Kuijper B, de Boer JG, van de Zande L, Beukeboom LW, Wertheim B, Pannebakker BA. Absence of complementary sex determination in the parasitoid wasp genus Asobara (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). PLoS One 2013; 8:e60459. [PMID: 23637750 PMCID: PMC3614920 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2012] [Accepted: 02/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
An attractive way to improve our understanding of sex determination evolution is to study the underlying mechanisms in closely related species and in a phylogenetic perspective. Hymenopterans are well suited owing to the diverse sex determination mechanisms, including different types of Complementary Sex Determination (CSD) and maternal control sex determination. We investigated different types of CSD in four species within the braconid wasp genus Asobara that exhibit diverse life-history traits. Nine to thirteen generations of inbreeding were monitored for diploid male production, brood size, offspring sex ratio, and pupal mortality as indicators for CSD. In addition, simulation models were developed to compare these observations to predicted patterns for multilocus CSD with up to ten loci. The inbreeding regime did not result in diploid male production, decreased brood sizes, substantially increased offspring sex ratios nor in increased pupal mortality. The simulations further allowed us to reject CSD with up to ten loci, which is a strong refutation of the multilocus CSD model. We discuss how the absence of CSD can be reconciled with the variation in life-history traits among Asobara species, and the ramifications for the phylogenetic distribution of sex determination mechanisms in the Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Juan Ma
- Evolutionary Genetics, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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23
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Ruf D, Dorn S, Mazzi D. Unexpectedly low frequencies of diploid males in an inbreeding parasitoid with complementary sex determination. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01976.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ruf
- ETH Zurich; Institute of Agricultural Sciences; Applied Entomology; Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO; 8092; Zurich; Switzerland
| | - Silvia Dorn
- ETH Zurich; Institute of Agricultural Sciences; Applied Entomology; Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO; 8092; Zurich; Switzerland
| | - Dominique Mazzi
- ETH Zurich; Institute of Agricultural Sciences; Applied Entomology; Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO; 8092; Zurich; Switzerland
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24
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Tracing back the nascence of a new sex-determination pathway to the ancestor of bees and ants. Nat Commun 2012; 3:895. [PMID: 22692538 PMCID: PMC3621418 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2011] [Accepted: 05/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In several Hymenoptera, sexual fate is determined by the allelic composition at the complementary sex-determiner locus, a sex-determination mechanism that can strongly affect population dynamics. To date, the molecular identification of complementary sex determiner has only been achieved in the honeybee, where the complementary sex-determiner gene was reported to have arisen from duplication of the feminizer gene. Strikingly, the complementary sex-determiner gene was also proposed to be unique to the honeybee lineage. Here we identify feminizer and complementary sex-determiner orthologues in bumble bees and ants. We further demonstrate that the duplication of feminizer that produced complementary sex determiner occurred before the divergence of Aculeata species (~120 Myr ago). Finally, we provide evidence that the two genes evolved concertedly through gene conversion, complementary sex-determiner evolution being additionally shaped by mosaic patterns of selection. Thus, the complementary sex-determiner gene likely represents the molecular basis for single locus-complementary sex determination in the Aculeata infra-order, and possibly, in the entire Hymenoptera order. In several Hymenoptera species - ants, bees and wasps - sexual fate is determined by the allelic composition at the complementary sex - determiner locus. This study identifies the honeybee complementary sex - determiner in bumble bee and ant orthologues, previously thought to be unique to the honeybee lineage.
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25
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Boer JG, Kuijper B, Heimpel GE, Beukeboom LW. Sex determination meltdown upon biological control introduction of the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula? Evol Appl 2012; 5:444-54. [PMID: 22949920 PMCID: PMC3407863 DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-4571.2012.00270.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Accepted: 04/24/2012] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural enemies may go through genetic bottlenecks during the process of biological control introductions. Such bottlenecks are expected to be particularly detrimental in parasitoid Hymenoptera that exhibit complementary sex determination (CSD). CSD is associated with a severe form of inbreeding depression because homozygosity at one or multiple sex loci leads to the production of diploid males that are typically unviable or sterile. We observed that diploid males occur at a relatively high rate (8–13% of diploid adults) in a field population of Cotesia rubecula in Minnesota, USA, where this parasitoid was introduced for biological control of the cabbage white Pieris rapae. However, our laboratory crosses suggest two-locus CSD in a native Dutch population of C. rubecula and moderately high diploid males survival (approximately 70%), a scenario expected to produce low proportions of diploid males. We also show that courtship behavior of diploid males is similar to that of haploid males, but females mated to diploid males produce only very few daughters that are triploid. We use our laboratory data to estimate sex allele diversity in the field population of C. rubecula and discuss the possibility of a sex determination meltdown from two-locus CSD to effective single-locus CSD during or after introduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jetske G Boer
- Evolutionary Genetics, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of GroningenGroningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen UniversityWageningen, The Netherlands
- *Correspondence Jetske G. de Boer, Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31-317-482019; fax: +31-317-484821; e-mail:
| | - Bram Kuijper
- Theoretical Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of GroningenGroningen, The Netherlands
- Behaviour & Evolution Group, Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridge, UK
| | - George E Heimpel
- Department of Entomology, University of MinnesotaSt. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Leo W Beukeboom
- Evolutionary Genetics, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of GroningenGroningen, The Netherlands
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26
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Souza RO, Del Lama MA, Cervini M, Mortari N, Eltz T, Zimmermann Y, Bach C, Brosi BJ, Suni S, Quezada-Euán JJG, Paxton RJ. Conservation genetics of neotropical pollinators revisited: microsatellite analysis suggests that diploid males are rare in orchid bees. Evolution 2011; 64:3318-26. [PMID: 20662922 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01052.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Allozyme analyses have suggested that Neotropical orchid bee (Euglossini) pollinators are vulnerable because of putative high frequencies of diploid males, a result of loss of sex allele diversity in small hymenopteran populations with single locus complementary sex determination. Our analysis of 1010 males from 27 species of euglossine bees sampled across the Neotropics at 2–11 polymorphic microsatellite loci revealed only five diploid males at an overall frequency of 0.005 (95% CIs 0.002–0.010); errors through genetic nondetection of diploid males were likely small. In contrast to allozyme-based studies, we detected very weak or insignificant population genetic structure, even for a pair of populations >500 km apart, possibly accounting for low diploid male frequencies. Technical flaws in previous allozyme-based analyses have probably led to considerable overestimation of diploid male production in orchid bees. Other factors may have a more immediate impact on population persistence than the genetic load imposed by diploid males on these important Neotropical pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rogério O Souza
- Laboratório de Genética Evolutiva de Himenópteros, Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, CEP 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
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27
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Elias J, Dorn S, Mazzi D. No evidence for increased extinction proneness with decreasing effective population size in a parasitoid with complementary sex determination and fertile diploid males. BMC Evol Biol 2010; 10:366. [PMID: 21110868 PMCID: PMC3004921 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-10-366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2010] [Accepted: 11/26/2010] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In species with single locus complementary sex determination (sl-CSD), the sex of individuals depends on their genotype at one single locus with multiple alleles. Haploid individuals are always males. Diploid individuals are females when heterozygous, but males when homozygous at the sex-determining locus. Diploid males are typically unviable or effectively sterile, hence imposing a genetic load on populations. Diploid males are produced from matings of partners that share an allele at the sex-determining locus. The lower the allelic diversity at the sex-determining locus, the more diploid males are produced, ultimately impairing the growth of populations and jeopardizing their persistence. The gregarious endoparasitoid wasp Cotesia glomerata is one of only two known species with sl-CSD and fertile diploid males. RESULTS By manipulating the relatedness of the founders, we established replicated experimental populations of the parasitoid C. glomerata differing in their genetic effective size, and thus in allelic richness at the sex-determining locus and in the expected magnitude of diploid male production. Our long-term survey of population welfare and persistence did not provide evidence for increased proneness to population extinction with decreasing initial genetic effective population size. Most recorded surrogates of fitness nevertheless decayed over time and most experimental populations eventually went extinct, suggesting that the negative effects of inbreeding outweighed any premium from the fertility of diploid males. CONCLUSIONS The fertility of diploid males may have evolved as an adaptation prompted by the risk of extinction looming over small isolated populations of species with sl-CSD. However, fertility of diploid males does not negate the costs imposed by their production, and although it may temporarily stave off extinction, it is not sufficient to eradicate the negative effects of inbreeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Elias
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences/Applied Entomology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Dorn
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences/Applied Entomology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominique Mazzi
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences/Applied Entomology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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Engelstädter J, Sandrock C, Vorburger C. Contagious parthenogenesis, automixis, and a sex determination meltdown. Evolution 2010; 65:501-11. [PMID: 21029077 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01145.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Because of the twofold cost of sex, genes conferring asexual reproduction are expected to spread rapidly in sexual populations. However, in reality this simple prediction is often confounded by several complications observed in natural systems. Motivated by recent findings in the Cape honey bee and in the parasitoid wasp Lysiphlebus fabarum, we explore through mathematical models the spread of a recessive, parthenogenesis inducing allele in a haplodiploid population. The focus of these models is on the intricate interactions between the mode of parthenogenesis induction through automixis and complementary sex determination (CSD) systems. These interactions may result in asexual production of diploid male offspring and the spread of the parthenogenesis-inducing allele through these males. We demonstrate that if parthenogenetic females produce a substantial proportion of male offspring, this may prevent the parthenogenesis-inducing allele from spreading. However, this effect is weakened if these diploid males are at least partially fertile. We also predict a degradation of multilocus CSD systems during the spread of parthenogenesis, following which only a single polymorphic CSD locus is maintained. Finally, based on empirical parameter estimates from L. fabarum we predict that male production in parthenogens is unlikely to prevent the eventual loss of sexual reproduction in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Engelstädter
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstr.16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
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29
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Beukeboom LW, Van De Zande L. Genetics of sex determination in the haplodiploid wasp Nasonia vitripennis (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). J Genet 2010; 89:333-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s12041-010-0045-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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30
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Insect sex determination: it all evolves around transformer. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2010; 20:376-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2010.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2010] [Revised: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 05/04/2010] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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ELIAS J, DORN S, MAZZI D. Inbreeding in a natural population of the gregarious parasitoid wasp Cotesia glomerata. Mol Ecol 2010; 19:2336-45. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04645.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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32
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What stops the ‘diploid male vortex’?—A simulation study for species with single locus complementary sex determination. Ecol Modell 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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33
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Elias J, Mazzi D, Dorn S. No need to discriminate? Reproductive diploid males in a parasitoid with complementary sex determination. PLoS One 2009; 4:e6024. [PMID: 19551142 PMCID: PMC2696080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2009] [Accepted: 05/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Diploid males in hymenopterans are generally either inviable or sterile, thus imposing a severe genetic load on populations. In species with the widespread single locus complementary sex determination (sl-CSD), sex depends on the genotype at one single locus with multiple alleles. Haploid (hemizygous) individuals are always males. Diploid individuals develop into females when heterozygous and into males when homozygous at the sex determining locus. Our comparison of the mating and reproductive success of haploid and diploid males revealed that diploid males of the braconid parasitoid Cotesia glomerata sire viable and fertile diploid daughters. Females mated to diploid males, however, produced fewer daughters than females mated to haploid males. Nevertheless, females did not discriminate against diploid males as mating partners. Diploid males initiated courtship display sooner than haploid males and were larger in body size. Although in most species so far examined diploid males were recognized as genetic dead ends, we present a second example of a species with sl-CSD and commonly occurring functionally reproductive diploid males. Our study suggests that functionally reproductive diploid males might not be as rare as hitherto assumed. We argue that the frequent occurrence of inbreeding in combination with imperfect behavioural adaptations towards its avoidance promote the evolution of diploid male fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Elias
- Institute of Plant Sciences, Applied Entomology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominique Mazzi
- Institute of Plant Sciences, Applied Entomology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Silvia Dorn
- Institute of Plant Sciences, Applied Entomology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland
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Asplen MK, Whitfield JB, DE Boer JG, Heimpel GE. Ancestral state reconstruction analysis of hymenopteran sex determination mechanisms. J Evol Biol 2009; 22:1762-9. [PMID: 19555444 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01774.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We provide the first phylogenetic evidence supporting complementary sex determination (CSD) as the ancestral mechanism for haplodiploidy in the Hymenoptera. It is currently not possible, however, to distinguish the evolutionary polarity of single locus (sl) CSD and multiple-locus (ml) CSD given the available data. In this light, we discuss the seemingly maladaptive hypothesis of ml-CSD ancestry, suggesting that collapse from ml-CSD to sl-CSD should remain a viable evolutionary hypothesis based on (i) likely weakening of frequency-dependent selection on sex alleles under ml-CSD and (ii) recent findings with respect to the evolutionary novelty of the complementary sex determiner gene in honeybees. Our findings help provide a phylogenetically informed blueprint for future sampling of sex determination mechanisms in the Hymenoptera, as they yield hypotheses for many unsampled or ambiguous taxa and highlight taxa whose further sampling will influence reconstruction of the evolutionary polarity of sex determination mechanisms in major clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- M K Asplen
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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35
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Whitfield JB, Rodriguez JJ, Masonick PK. Reared microgastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Yanayacu Biological Station and environs (Napo Province, Ecuador): diversity and host specialization. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2009; 9:31. [PMID: 19613864 PMCID: PMC3011880 DOI: 10.1673/031.009.3101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2008] [Accepted: 06/12/2008] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The microgastrine braconid wasps recovered up through 2007 by the NSF-sponsored rearing project "Caterpillars and Parasitoids of the Eastern Andes in Ecuador" are summarized in terms of their host specialization and faunistic uniqueness. Two hundred fifty eight rearings of caterpillars resulted in records of Microgastrinae, distributed among 14 genera (Apanteles Förster, Choeras Mason, Cotesia Cameron, Diolcogaster Ashmead, Distatrix Mason, Dolichogenidea Viereck, Exix Mason, Glyptapanteles Ashmead, Hypomicrogaster Ashmead, Papanteles Mason, Parapanteles Ashmead, Protapanteles Ashmead, Sathon Mason and Venanus Mason). Eleven records of hyperparasitoids of Microgastrinae are also summarized; Mesochorus Gravenhorst (Ichneumonidae) and Perilampidae are both recorded. The results are compared to those recovered by surveys in other parts of the world, especially by the Janzen-Hallwachs survey of the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in Costa Rica. An annotated list of microgastrine genera not yet recorded at Yanayacu, but which we expect to eventually find there based on extrapolation from their known geographic distributions, is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- James B Whitfield
- Entomology Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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