Correction to ‘Extreme developmental instability associated with wing plasticity in pea aphids’

A key focus of evolutionary developmental biology is on how phenotypic diversity is generated. In particular, both plasticity and developmental instability contribute to phenotypic variation among genetically identical individuals, but the interactions between the two phenomena and their general fitness impacts are unclear. We discovered a striking example of asymmetry in pea aphids: the presence of wings on one side and the complete or partial absence of wings on the opposite side. We used this asymmetric phenotype to study the connection between plasticity, developmental instability and fitness. We found that this asymmetric wing development (i) occurred equally on both sides and thus is a developmental instability; (ii) is present in some genetically unique lines but not others, and thus has a genetic basis; and (iii) has intermediate levels of fecundity, and thus does not necessarily have negative fitness consequences. We conclude that this dramatic asymmetry may arise from incomplete switching between developmental targets, linking plasticity and developmental instability. We suspect that what we have observed may be a more widespread phenomenon, occurring across species that routinely produce distinct, alternative phenotypes.

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Position within the geographic range, relative local abundance and developmental instability

Ecography ◽

10.1034/j.1600-0587.2000.230504.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 539-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M. Kiflawi ◽

B. J. Enquist ◽

M. A. Jordan

Keyword(s):

Geographic Range ◽

Developmental Instability ◽

Local Abundance

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Phage diversity and function in a tripartite symbiosis in pea aphids

10.1603/ice.2016.113002 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Jayce W. Brandt

Keyword(s):

Tripartite Symbiosis ◽

Pea Aphids ◽

And Function

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Fluctuating Asymmetry and Developmental Instability, a Guide to Best Practice

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym13010009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 9

Author(s):

John H. Graham

Keyword(s):

Measurement Error ◽

Best Practices ◽

Environmental Stress ◽

Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽

Best Practice ◽

Developmental Instability ◽

The Past ◽

Size Scaling ◽

Research Designs

Best practices in studies of developmental instability, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, have developed over the past 60 years. Unfortunately, they are haphazardly applied in many of the papers submitted for review. Most often, research designs suffer from lack of randomization, inadequate replication, poor attention to size scaling, lack of attention to measurement error, and unrecognized mixtures of additive and multiplicative errors. Here, I summarize a set of best practices, especially in studies that examine the effects of environmental stress on fluctuating asymmetry.

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Nature, Nurture, and Noise: Developmental Instability, Fluctuating Asymmetry, and the Causes of Phenotypic Variation

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym13071204 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1204

Author(s):

John H. Graham

Keyword(s):

Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽

Phenotypic Variation ◽

Deterministic Chaos ◽

Monozygotic Twins ◽

Developmental Instability ◽

Nonlinear Feedback ◽

Developmental Variation ◽

Sewall Wright ◽

Developmental Noise ◽

And Behavior

Phenotypic variation arises from genetic and environmental variation, as well as random aspects of development. The genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) components of this variation have been appreciated since at least 1900. The random developmental component (noise) has taken longer for quantitative geneticists to appreciate. Here, I sketch the historical development of the concepts of random developmental noise and developmental instability, and its quantification via fluctuating asymmetry. The unsung pioneers in this story are Hugo DeVries (fluctuating variation, 1909), C. H. Danforth (random variation between monozygotic twins, 1919), and Sewall Wright (random developmental variation in piebald guinea pigs, 1920). The first pioneering study of fluctuating asymmetry, by Sumner and Huestis in 1921, is seldom mentioned, possibly because it failed to connect the observed random asymmetry with random developmental variation. This early work was then synthesized by Boris Astaurov in 1930 and Wilhelm Ludwig in 1932, and then popularized by Drosophila geneticists beginning with Kenneth Mather in 1953. Population phenogeneticists are still trying to understand the origins and behavior of random developmental variation. Some of the developmental noise represents true stochastic behavior of molecules and cells, while some represents deterministic chaos, nonlinear feedback, and symmetry breaking.

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Serratia symbiotica Enhances Fatty Acid Metabolism of Pea Aphid to Promote Host Development

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22115951 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (11) ◽

pp. 5951

Author(s):

Xiaofei Zhou ◽

Xiaoyu Ling ◽

Huijuan Guo ◽

Keyan Zhu-Salzman ◽

Feng Ge ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Myristic Acid ◽

Fatty Acid Synthase ◽

Fatty Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Pea Aphids ◽

Serratia Symbiotica ◽

Aphid Host ◽

Host Development

Bacterial symbionts associated with insects are often involved in host development and ecological adaptation. Serratia symbiotica, a common facultative endosymbiont harbored in pea aphids, improves host fitness and heat tolerance, but studies concerning the nutritional metabolism and impact on the aphid host associated with carrying Serratia are limited. In the current study, we showed that Serratia-infected aphids had a shorter nymphal developmental time and higher body weight than Serratia-free aphids when fed on detached leaves. Genes connecting to fatty acid biosynthesis and elongation were up-regulated in Serratia-infected aphids. Specifically, elevated expression of fatty acid synthase 1 (FASN1) and diacylglycerol-o-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) could result in accumulation of myristic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidic acid in fat bodies. Impairing fatty acid synthesis in Serratia-infected pea aphids either by a pharmacological inhibitor or through silencing FASN1 and DGAT2 expression prolonged the nymphal growth period and decreased the aphid body weight. Conversely, supplementation of myristic acid (C14:0) to these aphids restored their normal development and weight gain. Our results indicated that Serratia promoted development and growth of its aphid host through enhancing fatty acid biosynthesis. Our discovery has shed more light on nutritional effects underlying the symbiosis between aphids and facultative endosymbionts.

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