scholarly journals Insect egg-killing: a new front on the evolutionary arms-race between Brassicaceae plants and Pierid butterflies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie Griese ◽  
Lotte Caarls ◽  
Setareh Mohammadin ◽  
Niccolò Bassetti ◽  
Gabriella Bukovinszkine’Kiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Killing Effect ◽  
Interacting Species ◽  
Brassicaceae Species ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race ◽  
Close Relatives

AbstractEvolutionary arms-races between plants and herbivores have been proposed to generate key innovations that can drive diversification of the interacting species. Recent studies reveal that plant traits that target herbivore insect eggs are widespread throughout the plant kingdom. Within the Brassicaceae family, some plants express a hypersensitive response (HR)-like necrosis underneath the eggs of specialist cabbage white butterflies (Pieridae) that leads to eggs desiccating or dropping of the leaf. Here, we studied the evolutionary basis of this trait, its egg-killing effect on and elicitation by specialist butterflies, by screening 31 Brassicaceae species and nine Pieridae species. We show that induction of HR-like necrosis by pierid egg deposition is clade-specific in the economically important Brassiceae tribe (Brassica crops and close-relatives) and in the first-branching genus Aethionema. The necrosis is elicited only by pierid butterflies that feed on Brassicaceae plants; four Pieris and Anthocharis cardamines butterflies, of which the larvae are specialists on Brassicaceae, elicited a HR-like necrosis. Eggs of pierid butterflies that feed on Rhamnaceae (Gonepteryx rhamni) or Fabaceae (Colias spp.) however, did not elicit such a leaf necrosis. Finally, eggs of Aglais io, a species of the sister group Nymphalidae, did not elicit any visible response. Counter-adaptations to HR-like necrosis might have evolved by insect deposition of eggs in clusters or on inflorescences. Our findings suggest that the plants’ egg-killing trait is a new front on the evolutionary arms-race between Brassicaceae and pierid butterflies beyond the well-studied chemical defence traits against caterpillars.

scholarly journals Coevolving Predator and Prey Robots: Do “Arms Races” Arise in Artificial Evolution?

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Nolfi ◽  
Dario Floreano
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Robotics ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Artificial Evolution ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race ◽  
Adaptive Power ◽  
Competing Populations

Coevolution (i.e., the evolution of two or more competing populations with coupled fitness) has several features that may potentially enhance the power of adaptation of artificial evolution. In particular, as discussed by Dawkins and Krebs [3], competing populations may reciprocally drive one another to increasing levels of complexity by producing an evolutionary “arms race.” In this article we will investigate the role of coevolution in the context of evolutionary robotics. In particular, we will try to understand in what conditions coevolution can lead to “arms races.” Moreover, we will show that in some cases artificial coevolution has a higher adaptive power than simple evolution. Finally, by analyzing the dynamics of coevolved populations, we will show that in some circumstances well-adapted individuals would be better advised to adopt simple but easily modifiable strategies suited for the current competitor strategies rather than incorporate complex and general strategies that may be effective against a wide range of opposing counter-strategies.

scholarly journals The Evolutionary Histories of Antiretroviral Proteins SERINC3 and SERINC5 Do Not Support an Evolutionary Arms Race in Primates

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (18) ◽  
pp. 8085-8089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Murrell ◽  
Thomas Vollbrecht ◽  
John Guatelli ◽  
Joel O. Wertheim
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Restriction Factor ◽  
Restriction Factors ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Host Restriction ◽  
Host Restriction Factor ◽  
Novel Host ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACTMolecular evolutionary arms races between viruses and their hosts are important drivers of adaptation. These Red Queen dynamics have been frequently observed in primate retroviruses and their antagonists, host restriction factor genes, such as APOBEC3F/G, TRIM5-α, SAMHD1, and BST-2. Host restriction factors have experienced some of the most intense and pervasive adaptive evolution documented in primates. Recently, two novel host factors, SERINC3 and SERINC5, were identified as the targets of HIV-1 Nef, a protein crucial for the optimal infectivity of virus particles. Here, we compared the evolutionary fingerprints of SERINC3 and SERINC5 to those of other primate restriction factors and to a set of other genes with diverse functions. SERINC genes evolved in a manner distinct from the canonical arms race dynamics seen in the other restriction factors. Despite their antiviral activity against HIV-1 and other retroviruses, SERINC3 and SERINC5 have a relatively uneventful evolutionary history in primates.IMPORTANCERestriction factors are host proteins that block viral infection and replication. Many viruses, like HIV-1 and related retroviruses, evolved accessory proteins to counteract these restriction factors. The importance of these interactions is evidenced by the intense adaptive selection pressures that dominate the evolutionary histories of both the host and viral genes involved in this so-called arms race. The dynamics of these arms races can point to mechanisms by which these viral infections can be prevented. Two human genes, SERINC3 and SERINC5, were recently identified as targets of an HIV-1 accessory protein important for viral infectivity. Unexpectedly, we found that these SERINC genes, unlike other host restriction factor genes, show no evidence of a recent evolutionary arms race with viral pathogens.

scholarly journals Factors mediating plastid dependency and the origins of parasitism in apicomplexans and their close relatives

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (33) ◽  
pp. 10200-10207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Janouškovec ◽  
Denis V. Tikhonenkov ◽  
Fabien Burki ◽  
Alexis T. Howe ◽  
Martin Kolísko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plastid Genome ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Molecular Characteristics ◽  
Phylogenomic Analysis ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Plastid Genomes ◽  
Monophyletic Lineage ◽  
Causative Agents ◽  
Close Relatives

Apicomplexans are a major lineage of parasites, including causative agents of malaria and toxoplasmosis. How such highly adapted parasites evolved from free-living ancestors is poorly understood, particularly because they contain nonphotosynthetic plastids with which they have a complex metabolic dependency. Here, we examine the origin of apicomplexan parasitism by resolving the evolutionary distribution of several key characteristics in their closest free-living relatives, photosynthetic chromerids and predatory colpodellids. Using environmental sequence data, we describe the diversity of these apicomplexan-related lineages and select five species that represent this diversity for transcriptome sequencing. Phylogenomic analysis recovered a monophyletic lineage of chromerids and colpodellids as the sister group to apicomplexans, and a complex distribution of retention versus loss for photosynthesis, plastid genomes, and plastid organelles. Reconstructing the evolution of all plastid and cytosolic metabolic pathways related to apicomplexan plastid function revealed an ancient dependency on plastid isoprenoid biosynthesis, predating the divergence of apicomplexan and dinoflagellates. Similarly, plastid genome retention is strongly linked to the retention of two genes in the plastid genome, sufB and clpC, altogether suggesting a relatively simple model for plastid retention and loss. Lastly, we examine the broader distribution of a suite of molecular characteristics previously linked to the origins of apicomplexan parasitism and find that virtually all are present in their free-living relatives. The emergence of parasitism may not be driven by acquisition of novel components, but rather by loss and modification of the existing, conserved traits.

Alternative functions of CRISPR–Cas systems in the evolutionary arms race

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prarthana Mohanraju ◽  
Chinmoy Saha ◽  
Peter van Baarlen ◽  
Rogier Louwen ◽  
Raymond H. J. Staals ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arms Race ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race

scholarly journals Insect egg‐killing: a new front on the evolutionary arms‐race between brassicaceous plants and pierid butterflies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie Griese ◽  
Lotte Caarls ◽  
Niccolò Bassetti ◽  
Setareh Mohammadin ◽  
Patrick Verbaarschot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arms Race ◽  
Insect Egg ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race

scholarly journals The evolutionary arms race between transposable elements and piRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiqi Luo ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Yuange Duan ◽  
Xinmin Yao ◽  
Andrew G. Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race

Simulation analysis on the effectiveness of missile defense

2020 ◽  
pp. 002234331989871
Author(s):  
Jaehak Kim ◽  
Woosang Kim
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Force ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Nuclear Deterrence ◽  
Missile Defense ◽  
Security Dilemma ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Logical Inconsistency ◽  
Simulation Results

Literatures on the influences of missile defense (MD) on the existing nuclear deterrence are divided into negative and positive perspectives. However, both sides seem to make contradictory arguments. Skeptics argue that it is not feasible that MD influences deterrence stability but that it causes security dilemma and arms race, while proponents suggest that MD does not have to be perfect to reinforce deterrence stability but that it does not cause security dilemma and arms race. To fix this logical inconsistency, we identify an additional variable which is crucial in understanding the security dilemma mechanism in addition to Jervis’s (1978) two variables. By adding another variable, a minimum MD effectiveness level required for deterrence success suggested by Quackenbush (2006), to Jervis’s framework, we develop three hypotheses, two of which are novel on MD and its potential influences on deterrence stability and arms race. We then introduce a probabilistic model of the MD effectiveness by modifying Wilkening’s (2000) and conduct simulation analysis to see if MD is more likely to incur security dilemma and arms race. Our simulation results show that MD influence is likely to be different depending on a potential challenger’s national capability. Against a great power challenger, MD is least likely to meet the minimum MD effectiveness level required for deterrence success, so that the challenger is more likely to respond flexibly to the defender’s buildup of MD. Against a newly nuclear-armed state, however, a defender’s MD is more likely to satisfy the minimum MD effectiveness level, so that the defender is highly likely to respond flexibly to the potential challenger’s reinforcement effort of its nuclear force. In either case, our simulation results indicate that arms races concerning MD among them are not likely to occur.

scholarly journals Fruits, frugivores and the evolutionary arms race

2002 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Tewksbury
Keyword(s):  
Arms Race ◽  
Evolutionary Arms Race
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document