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Weber JN, Kojima W, Boisseau RP, Niimi T, Morita S, Shigenobu S, Gotoh H, Araya K, Lin CP, Thomas-Bulle C, Allen CE, Tong W, Lavine LC, Swanson BO, Emlen DJ. Evolution of horn length and lifting strength in the Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4285-4297.e5. [PMID: 37734374 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
What limits the size of nature's most extreme structures? For weapons like beetle horns, one possibility is a tradeoff associated with mechanical levers: as the output arm of the lever system-the beetle horn-gets longer, it also gets weaker. This "paradox of the weakening combatant" could offset reproductive advantages of additional increases in weapon size. However, in contemporary populations of most heavily weaponed species, males with the longest weapons also tend to be the strongest, presumably because selection drove the evolution of compensatory changes to these lever systems that ameliorated the force reductions of increased weapon size. Therefore, we test for biomechanical limits by reconstructing the stages of weapon evolution, exploring whether initial increases in weapon length first led to reductions in weapon force generation that were later ameliorated through the evolution of mechanisms of mechanical compensation. We describe phylogeographic relationships among populations of a rhinoceros beetle and show that the "pitchfork" shaped head horn likely increased in length independently in the northern and southern radiations of beetles. Both increases in horn length were associated with dramatic reductions to horn lifting strength-compelling evidence for the paradox of the weakening combatant-and these initial reductions to horn strength were later ameliorated in some populations through reductions to horn length or through increases in head height (the input arm for the horn lever system). Our results reveal an exciting geographic mosaic of weapon size, weapon force, and mechanical compensation, shedding light on larger questions pertaining to the evolution of extreme structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse N Weber
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Wataru Kojima
- Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8511, Japan
| | - Romain P Boisseau
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Teruyuki Niimi
- Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Shinichi Morita
- Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Shuji Shigenobu
- Trans-Scale Biology Center, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Hiroki Gotoh
- Department of Science, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Oya, Suruga Ward, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kunio Araya
- Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-city Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Chung-Ping Lin
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, No.88 Sec. 4, Tingzhou Rd, Taipei 11677, Taiwan
| | - Camille Thomas-Bulle
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA
| | - Cerisse E Allen
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Wenfei Tong
- Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Laura Corley Lavine
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Brook O Swanson
- Department of Biology, Gonzaga University, 502 East Boone Avenue, Spokane, WA 99258-0102, USA
| | - Douglas J Emlen
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
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Kerman K, Roggero A, Rolando A, Palestrini C. Sexual horn dimorphism predicts the expression of active personality trait: males perform better only in the sexually horn dimorphic Onthophagus dung beetle. J ETHOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-023-00782-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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Yang H, You CJ, Tsui CKM, Tembrock LR, Wu ZQ, Yang DP. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) based on SNP markers. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:153-173. [PMID: 33437420 PMCID: PMC7790660 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus is one of the largest beetle species in the world and is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Ten subspecies of T. dichotomus and a related Trypoxylus species (T. kanamorii) have been described throughout Asia, but their taxonomic delimitations remain problematic. To clarify issues such as taxonomy, and the degree of genetic differentiation of Trypoxylus populations, we investigated the genetic structure, genetic variability, and phylogeography of 53 specimens of Trypoxylus species from 44 locations in five Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Myanmar). Using specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) techniques, we developed 330,799 SLAFs over 114.16M reads, in turn yielding 46,939 high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for genotyping. Phylogenetic analysis of SNPs indicated the presence of three distinct genetic groups, suggesting that the various subspecies could be treated as three groups of populations. PCA and ADMIXTURE analysis also identified three genetic clusters (North, South, West), which corresponded to their locations, suggesting that geographic factors were important in maintaining within population homogeneity and between population divergence. Analyses of SNP data confirmed the monophyly of certain subspecies on islands, while other subspecies (e.g., T. d. septentrionalis) were found to be polyphyletic and nested in more than one lineage. AMOVA demonstrated high level of differentiation among populations/groups. Also, pairwise F ST values revealed high differentiation, particularly between South and West, as well as between North and South. Despite the differentiation, measurable gene flow was inferred between genetic clusters but at varying rates and directions. Our study demonstrated that SLAF-seq derived markers outperformed 16S and COII sequences and provided improved resolution of the genetic differentiation of rhinoceros beetle populations from a large part of the species' range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Yang
- School of Pharmaceutical SciencesSun Yat‐Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Chong Juan You
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Forest Pest ControlBeijing Forestry UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Clement K. M. Tsui
- Department of PathologySidra MedicineDohaQatar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineWeill Cornell Medicine‐QatarAr‐RayyanQatar
- Division of Infectious DiseasesFaculty of MedicineUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | - Luke R. Tembrock
- Department of Agricultural BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCOUSA
| | - Zhi Qiang Wu
- Shenzhen BranchGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern AgricultureGenome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of AgricultureAgricultural Genomics Institute at ShenzhenChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesShenzhenChina
| | - De Po Yang
- School of Pharmaceutical SciencesSun Yat‐Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
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