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Haran J, Li X, Allio R, Shin S, Benoit L, Oberprieler RG, Farrell BD, Brown SDJ, Leschen RAB, Kergoat GJ, McKenna DD. Phylogenomics illuminates the phylogeny of flower weevils (Curculioninae) and reveals ten independent origins of brood-site pollination mutualism in true weevils. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230889. [PMID: 37817603 PMCID: PMC10565390 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Weevils are an unusually species-rich group of phytophagous insects for which there is increasing evidence of frequent involvement in brood-site pollination. This study examines phylogenetic patterns in the emergence of brood-site pollination mutualism among one of the most speciose beetle groups, the flower weevils (subfamily Curculioninae). We analysed a novel phylogenomic dataset consisting of 214 nuclear loci for 202 weevil species, with a sampling that mainly includes flower weevils as well as representatives of all major lineages of true weevils (Curculionidae). Our phylogenomic analyses establish a uniquely comprehensive phylogenetic framework for Curculioninae and provide new insights into the relationships among lineages of true weevils. Based on this phylogeny, statistical reconstruction of ancestral character states revealed at least 10 independent origins of brood-site pollination in higher weevils through transitions from ancestral associations with reproductive structures in the larval stage. Broadly, our results illuminate the unexpected frequency with which true weevils-typically specialized phytophages and hence antagonists of plants-have evolved mutualistic interactions of ecological significance that are key to both weevil and plant evolutionary fitness and thus a component of their deeply intertwined macroevolutionary success.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Haran
- CBGP, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - X. Li
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
- Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
| | - R. Allio
- CBGP, INRAE, IRD, CIRAD, Institut Agro, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - S. Shin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
- Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - L. Benoit
- CBGP, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - R. G. Oberprieler
- CSIRO, Australian National Insect Collection, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - B. D. Farrell
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - S. D. J. Brown
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 85084, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
| | | | - G. J. Kergoat
- CBGP, INRAE, IRD, CIRAD, Institut Agro, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - D. D. McKenna
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
- Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
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Zhang ZY, Li W, Huang QC, Yang L, Chen XL, Xiao RD, Tang CQ, Hu SJ. Cut to Disarm Plant Defence: A Unique Oviposition Behaviour in Rhynchites foveipennis (Coleoptera: Attelabidae). INSECTS 2023; 14:200. [PMID: 36835769 PMCID: PMC9965434 DOI: 10.3390/insects14020200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Female weevils of the family Attelabidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) possess a unique behaviour of partially cutting the branches connecting egg-bearing organs of their host plants during oviposition. However, the consequence of such behaviour remains unclear. Using Rhynchites foveipennis and its host pear (Pyrus pyrifolia), the present study tested the hypothesis that the oviposition behaviour could disarm the host plants' defence. We compared the survival rates, growth rates, and performance of eggs and larvae under two conditions: (1) the fruit stems were naturally damaged by the females before and after oviposition, and (2) the fruit stems were artificially protected from the females. When fruit stems were protected from female damage, the survival rates of eggs and larvae were only 21.3-32.6%, respectively; and the larval weight was 3.2-4.1 mg 30 days after laying eggs. When the fruit stems were damaged, the survival rates of eggs and larvae reached 86.1-94.0%, respectively; and the larval weight reached 73.0-74.9 mg 30 days after laying eggs. The contents of tannin and flavonoids in the pears did not change significantly along with the oviposition and larval feeding, but weevil eggs were crushed and killed by the callus in the pears. Once the stunted larvae in branch-growing pears were moved into the picked-off ones, the growth and development recovered. The findings indicate that the oviposition behaviour can significantly increase the survival of the offspring. Our study suggested that the oviposition behaviour of attelabid weevils is a strategy to overcome plant defence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Ying Zhang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Wei Li
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Qi-Chao Huang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Liu Yang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Xiao-Lan Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Ru-Di Xiao
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Cindy Q. Tang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Shao-Ji Hu
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
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Morphological and molecular inference of immature stages of Larinus hedenborgi (Col: Curculionidae), a trehala-constructing weevil. ORG DIVERS EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-021-00511-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Girón JC. Status of knowledge of the broad-nosed weevils of Colombia (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae). NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2020. [DOI: 10.3897/neotropical.15.e59713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Broad-nosed weevils in the subfamily Entiminae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are highly diverse, not only in terms of number of species, but also in their sizes, forms and colours. There are eight tribes, 50 genera and 224 entimine species recorded from Colombia: seven genera and 142 species are considered endemic and only a handful of species, which are recognised as pests of Citrus or potatoes, are broadly known. The large diversity of this subfamily in the country is only superficially known and even though genus level identifications are generally achievable, species identification remains quite challenging, due in part to limited access to broadly-scattered basic information. Summaries of available information and bibliographic resources for each of the tribes represented in Colombia are offered, along with a checklist of the species of Entiminae recorded from the country, obtained from literature and a pictorial key for tribal recognition. New combinations are proposed for eight species of the genus Lanterius Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal. Information on the distribution of entimine species in Colombia is compiled for the first time, including complete references to each original description and available taxonomic revisions. About a third of the species of Entiminae remain as recorded from the country without specific locality information. In addition, genus level distributional maps are presented, generated from data obtained from four Colombian entomological collections. Lastly, some challenges for entimine identification in Colombia, which likely extend throughout the Neotropical region, are briefly discussed. This contribution aims, in part, to facilitate and promote entimine research in northern South America.
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de Medeiros BAS, Farrell BD. Evaluating insect-host interactions as a driver of species divergence in palm flower weevils. Commun Biol 2020; 3:749. [PMID: 33299067 PMCID: PMC7726107 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01482-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants and their specialized flower visitors provide valuable insights into the evolutionary consequences of species interactions. In particular, antagonistic interactions between insects and plants have often been invoked as a major driver of diversification. Here we use a tropical community of palms and their specialized insect flower visitors to test whether antagonisms lead to higher population divergence. Interactions between palms and the insects visiting their flowers range from brood pollination to florivory and commensalism, with the latter being species that feed on decaying-and presumably undefended-plant tissues. We test the role of insect-host interactions in the early stages of diversification of nine species of beetles sharing host plants and geographical ranges by first delimiting cryptic species and then using models of genetic isolation by environment. The degree to which insect populations are structured by the genetic divergence of plant populations varies. A hierarchical model reveals that this variation is largely uncorrelated with the kind of interaction, showing that antagonistic interactions are not associated with higher genetic differentiation. Other aspects of host use that affect plant-associated insects regardless of the outcomes of their interactions, such as sensory biases, are likely more general drivers of insect population divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno A S de Medeiros
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Brian D Farrell
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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De Medeiros BAS, Núñez-Avellaneda LA, Hernandez AM, Farrell BD. Flower visitors of the licuri palm (Syagrus coronata): brood pollinators coexist with a diverse community of antagonists and mutualists. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno A S De Medeiros
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Alyssa M Hernandez
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Brian D Farrell
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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The Weevil Fauna Preserved in Burmese Amber—Snapshot of a Unique, Extinct Lineage (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). DIVERSITY-BASEL 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/d11010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Only a few weevils have been described from Burmese amber, and although most have been misclassified, they show unusual and specialised characters unknown in extant weevils. In this paper, we present the results of a study of a much larger and more diverse selection of Burmese amber weevils. We prepared all amber blocks to maximise visibility of structures and examined these with high-magnification light microscopy as well as CT scanning (selected specimens). We redescribe most previously described taxa and describe 52 new species in 26 new genera, accompanied by photographs. We compare critical characters of these weevils with those of extant taxa and outline the effects of distortion on their preservation and interpretation. We conclude that only two weevil families are thus far represented in Burmese amber, Nemonychidae and a newly recognised family, Mesophyletidae, which appears closely related to Attelabidae but cannot be accommodated in this family. The geniculate antennae and long rostrum with exodont mandibles of most Mesophyletidae indicate that they were highly specialised phytophages of early angiosperms preserved in the amber, likely ovipositing in flowers or seeds. This weevil fauna appears to represent an extinct mid-Cretaceous ecosystem and fills a critical gap in the fossil record of weevils.
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