scholarly journals A major locus controls a biologically active pheromone component in Heliconius melpomene

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey J.R.P. Byers ◽  
Kathy Darragh ◽  
Jamie Musgrove ◽  
Diana Abondano Almeida ◽  
Sylvia Fernanda Garza ◽  
...  

AbstractUnderstanding the production, response, and genetics of signals used in mate choice can inform our understanding of the evolution of both intraspecific mate choice and reproductive isolation. Sex pheromones are important for courtship and mate choice in many insects, but we know relatively little of their role in butterflies. The butterfly Heliconius melpomene uses a complex blend of wing androconial compounds during courtship. Electroantennography in H. melpomene and its close relative H. cydno showed that responses to androconial extracts were not species-specific. Females of both species responded equally strongly to extracts of both species, suggesting conservation of peripheral nervous system elements across the two species. Individual blend components provoked little to no response, with the exception of octadecanal, a major component of the H. melpomene blend. Supplementing octadecanal on the wings of octadecanal-rich H. melpomene males led to an increase in the time until mating, demonstrating the bioactivity of octadecanal in Heliconius. Using quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, we identified a single locus on chromosome 20 responsible for 41% of the parental species’ difference in octadecanal production. This QTL does not overlap with any of the major wing color or mate choice loci, nor does it overlap with known regions of elevated or reduced FST. A set of 16 candidate fatty acid biosynthesis genes lies underneath the QTL. Pheromones in Heliconius carry information relevant for mate choice and are under simple genetic control, suggesting they could be important during speciation.

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grainne S. Maguire ◽  
Raoul A. Mulder

The frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) among birds varies considerably, with the highest rates (56–76%) reported in several species of fairy-wren (Maluridae). According to the ‘constrained female’ hypothesis, such high frequencies arise when females are emancipated from constraints on mate choice because they have access to alternative sources of parental care (cooperative breeding). We investigated the genetic mating system of a close relative of the fairy-wrens within the Maluridae, the southern emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus). Southern emu-wrens share several life-history attributes with the fairy-wrens, but show relatively low levels of cooperation, providing an opportunity to assess how the frequency of cooperative breeding correlates with the frequency of EPP. We assessed paternity for 50 offspring within 27 emu-wren broods using species-specific microsatellite markers. Overall, only 12% of genotyped offspring resulted from extra-pair paternity, and 15% of broods contained at least one extra-pair offspring. We argue that opportunities for mate choice by female emu-wrens are restricted by their dependence on paternal care for offspring survival, as suggested by the constrained female hypothesis. The low occurrence of cooperative breeding in the southern emu-wren may thus help explain the extreme variation in the frequency of extra-pair paternity within this family.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-255
Author(s):  
Manfred Focke ◽  
Andrea Feld ◽  
Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler

Author(s):  
L. K. Dahiwade ◽  
S. R. Rochlani ◽  
P. B. Choudhari ◽  
R. P. Dhavale ◽  
H. N. Moreira

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a causative organism of tuberculosis, which is most deadly disease after cancer in a current decade. The development of multidrug and broadly drug- resistant strains making the tuberculosis problem more and more critical. In last 40 years, only one molecule is added to the treatment regimen. Generally, drug design and development programs are targeted proteins whose function is known to be essential to the bacterial cell. Objectives: Reported here are the development of 'S', 'N’ heterocycles as antimycobacterials targeting fatty acid biosynthesis. Material and Methods: In the present communication, rational development of anti-mycobacterial agent's targeting fatty acid biosynthesis has been done by integrating the pocket modelling and virtual analysis. Results: The identified potential 33 lead compounds were synthesized, characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods like IR, NMR spectroscopy and further screened for antimycobacterial activity using isoniazid as standard. All the designed compounds have shown profound antimycobacterial activity. Conclusion: In this present communication, we found that 3c, 3f, 3l and 4k molecules had expressive desirable biological activity and specific interactions with fatty acids. Further optimization of these leads is necessary for the development of potential antimycobacterial drug candidate having less side effects.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 706
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Moreno-Pérez ◽  
Raquel Martins-Noguerol ◽  
Cristina DeAndrés-Gil ◽  
Mónica Venegas-Calerón ◽  
Rosario Sánchez ◽  
...  

Histone modifications are of paramount importance during plant development. Investigating chromatin remodeling in developing oilseeds sheds light on the molecular mechanisms controlling fatty acid metabolism and facilitates the identification of new functional regions in oil crop genomes. The present study characterizes the epigenetic modifications H3K4me3 in relationship with the expression of fatty acid-related genes and transcription factors in developing sunflower seeds. Two master transcriptional regulators identified in this analysis, VIV1 (homologous to Arabidopsis ABI3) and FUS3, cooperate in the regulation of WRINKLED 1, a transcriptional factor regulating glycolysis, and fatty acid synthesis in developing oilseeds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5951
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Zhou ◽  
Xiaoyu Ling ◽  
Huijuan Guo ◽  
Keyan Zhu-Salzman ◽  
Feng Ge ◽  
...  

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.


1973 ◽  
Vol 248 (4) ◽  
pp. 1268-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Jacobs ◽  
William S. Sly ◽  
Philip W. Majerus

1963 ◽  
Vol 238 (4) ◽  
pp. 1255-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Goldman ◽  
A.W. Alberts ◽  
P. Roy Vagelos

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