scholarly journals Legacy of a Butterfly’s Parental Microbiome in Offspring Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis R. Paniagua Voirol ◽  
Arne Weinhold ◽  
Paul R. Johnston ◽  
Nina E. Fatouros ◽  
Monika Hilker

ABSTRACT An insect’s phenotype can be influenced by the experiences of the parental generation. However, the effects of the parental symbiotic microbiome and host plant use on the offspring are unclear. We addressed this gap of knowledge by studying Pieris brassicae, a multivoltine butterfly species feeding on different brassicaceous plants across generations. We investigated how disturbance of the parental bacterial community by antibiotic treatment affects F1 larval traits. We tested the effects depending on whether F1 larvae are feeding on the same plant species as their parents or on a different one. The parental treatment alone had no impact on the biomass of F1 larvae feeding on the parental plant species. However, the parental treatment had a detrimental effect on F1 larval biomass when F1 larvae had a different host plant than their parents. This effect was linked to higher larval prophenoloxidase activity and greater downregulation of the major allergen gene (MA), a glucosinolate detoxification gene of P. brassicae. Bacterial abundance in untreated adult parents was high, while it was very low in F1 larvae from either parental type, and thus unlikely to directly influence larval traits. Our results suggest that transgenerational effects of the parental microbiome on the offspring’s phenotype become evident when the offspring is exposed to a transgenerational host plant shift. IMPORTANCE Resident bacterial communities are almost absent in larvae of butterflies and thus are unlikely to affect their host. In contrast, adult butterflies contain conspicuous amounts of bacteria. While the host plant and immune state of adult parental butterflies are known to affect offspring traits, it has been unclear whether also the parental microbiome imposes direct effects on the offspring. Here, we show that disturbance of the bacterial community in parental butterflies by an antibiotic treatment has a detrimental effect on those offspring larvae feeding on a different host plant than their parents. Hence, the study indicates that disturbance of an insect’s parental microbiome by an antibiotic treatment shapes how the offspring individuals can adjust themselves to a novel host plant.

Oecologia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 186 (4) ◽  
pp. 995-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryosuke Nakadai ◽  
Koya Hashimoto ◽  
Takaya Iwasaki ◽  
Yasuhiro Sato

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Ho Chung ◽  
Erin D. Scully ◽  
Michelle Peiffer ◽  
Scott M. Geib ◽  
Cristina Rosa ◽  
...  

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori R. Shapiro ◽  
Joseph N. Paulson ◽  
Brian J. Arnold ◽  
Erin D. Scully ◽  
Olga Zhaxybayeva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTErwinia tracheiphilais the causal agent of bacterial wilt of cucurbits, an economically important phytopathogen affecting an economically important phytopathogen affecting few cultivated Cucurbitaceae few cultivated Cucurbitaceae host plant species in temperate eastern North America. However, essentially nothing is known aboutE. tracheiphilapopulation structure or genetic diversity. To address this shortcoming, a representative collection of 88E. tracheiphilaisolates was gathered from throughout its geographic range, and their genomes were sequenced. Phylogenomic analysis revealed three genetic clusters with distincthrpT3SS virulence gene repertoires, host plant association patterns, and geographic distributions. Low genetic heterogeneity within each cluster suggests a recent population bottleneck followed by population expansion. We showed that in the field and greenhouse, cucumber (Cucumis sativus), which was introduced to North America by early Spanish conquistadors, is the most susceptible host plant species and the only species susceptible to isolates from all three lineages. The establishment of large agricultural populations of highly susceptibleC. sativusin temperate eastern North America may have facilitated the original emergence ofE. tracheiphilainto cucurbit agroecosystems, and this introduced plant species may now be acting as a highly susceptible reservoir host. Our findings have broad implications for agricultural sustainability by drawing attention to how worldwide crop plant movement, agricultural intensification, and locally unique environments may affect the emergence, evolution, and epidemic persistence of virulent microbial pathogens.IMPORTANCEErwinia tracheiphilais a virulent phytopathogen that infects two genera of cucurbit crop plants,Cucurbitaspp. (pumpkin and squash) andCucumisspp. (muskmelon and cucumber). One of the unusual ecological traits of this pathogen is that it is limited to temperate eastern North America. Here, we complete the first large-scale sequencing of anE. tracheiphilaisolate collection. From phylogenomic, comparative genomic, and empirical analyses, we find that introducedCucumisspp. crop plants are driving the diversification ofE. tracheiphilainto multiple lineages. Together, the results from this study show that locally unique biotic (plant population) and abiotic (climate) conditions can drive the evolutionary trajectories of locally endemic pathogens in unexpected ways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Swarnali Mukherjee ◽  
Rudra Prasad Das ◽  
Soumyajit Banerjee ◽  
Parthiba Basu ◽  
Goutam K Saha ◽  
...  

Abstract At a spatial scale, the diversity of butterflies varies with numerous factors including the availability of the host plant species. In parity with this proposition, the correspondence of diversity of butterfly and plant in the background of the urban–rural gradient was evaluated using Kolkata, India, as a model study area. The results reveal significant positive correlation between the diversity of butterflies and the plants, with the different values for the suburban, rural, and urban areas. Identification of the butterfly loads for the plants in the respective areas can be useful in enhancing the conservation of the butterflies through enhanced plantation of the concerned plant species. Alternatively, the disclosure of the generalist and specialist pattern of the plant species preference by the butterflies may be useful in enhancing the population of the respective species in the concerned areas. The conservation strategy for butterfly species may be refined through the use of both or any one of the quantitative assessment of the butterfly–plant links in the urban–rural gradient in Kolkata, India, and similar places in the world.


Author(s):  
Marcin W. Zielonka ◽  
Tom W. Pope ◽  
Simon R. Leather

Abstract The carnation tortrix moth, Cacoecimorpha pronubana (Hübner, [1799]) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is one of the most economically important insect species affecting the horticultural industry in the UK. The larvae consume foliage, flowers or fruits, and/or rolls leaves together with silken threads, negatively affecting the growth and/or aesthetics of the crop. In order to understand the polyphagous behaviour of this species within an ornamental crop habitat, we hypothesized that different host plant species affect its life history traits differently. This study investigated the effects of the host plant species on larval and pupal durations and sizes, and fecundity (the number of eggs and the number and size of egg clutches). At 20°C, 60% RH and a 16L:8D photoperiod larvae developed 10, 14, 20 and 36 days faster when reared on Christmas berry, Photinia (Rosaceae), than on cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus (Rosaceae), New Zealand broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis (Griseliniaceae), Mexican orange, Choisya ternata (Rutaceae), and firethorn, Pyracantha angustifolia (Rosaceae), respectively. Female pupae were 23.8 mg heavier than male pupae, and pupal weight was significantly correlated with the duration of larval development. The lowest and the highest mean numbers of eggs were produced by females reared on Pyracantha (41) and Photinia (202), respectively. Clutch size differed significantly among moths reared on different host plants, although the total number of eggs did not differ. This study showed that different ornamental host plants affect the development of C. pronubana differently. Improved understanding of the influence of host plant on the moth's life history parameters measured here will help in determining the economic impact that this species may have within the ornamental plant production environment, and may be used in developing more accurate crop protection methodologies within integrated pest management of this insect.


2020 ◽  
Vol 168 (12) ◽  
pp. 900-910
Author(s):  
Eduardo G. Virla ◽  
María B. Aguirre ◽  
Guido A. Van Nieuwenhove ◽  
Erica B. Luft Albarracin ◽  
Guillermo A. Logarzo

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaylord A. Desurmont ◽  
Paul A. Weston

AbstractExperiments were conducted under laboratory conditions to determine the influence of the relative sizes of predator and prey, temperature, presence of refugia, size of the search area, and host-plant species on the predation performance of Podisus maculiventris (Say) nymphs against viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull), a new landscape pest in North America that feeds on the foliage of species of Viburnum L. (Caprifoliaceae). Predator handling time was positively correlated with body mass of the prey for all instars of P. maculiventris, but the rate of increase of handling time relative to prey mass decreased as predator age increased. Temperature was positively correlated with predation rates, but the presence of refugia did not have an impact on predation. The influence of host-plant species and size of the search area was tested on southern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum L.) and American cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum Aiton). There was a significant interaction between plant species and size of the search area, the species effect becoming significant as leaf surface area increased. In the case of southern arrowwood a negative correlation between size of the search area and predation rate was also detected. The identification of these factors adds valuable knowledge for using P. maculiventris as a biological-control agent against P. viburni.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 4055-4065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuya Tada ◽  
Akito Taniguchi ◽  
Ippei Nagao ◽  
Takeshi Miki ◽  
Mitsuo Uematsu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGrowth and productivity of phytoplankton substantially change organic matter characteristics, which affect bacterial abundance, productivity, and community structure in aquatic ecosystems. We analyzed bacterial community structures and measured activities inside and outside phytoplankton blooms in the western North Pacific Ocean by using bromodeoxyuridine immunocytochemistry and fluorescencein situhybridization (BIC-FISH).Roseobacter/Rhodobacter, SAR11,Betaproteobacteria,Alteromonas, SAR86, andBacteroidetesresponded differently to changes in organic matter supply.Roseobacter/Rhodobacterbacteria remained widespread, active, and proliferating despite large fluctuations in organic matter and chlorophylla(Chl-a) concentrations. The relative contribution ofBacteroidetesto total bacterial production was consistently high. Furthermore, we documented the unexpectedly large contribution ofAlteromonasto total bacterial production in the bloom. Bacterial abundance, productivity, and growth potential (the proportion of growing cells in a population) were significantly correlated with Chl-aand particulate organic carbon concentrations. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that organic matter supply was critical for determining bacterial community structures. The growth potential of each bacterial group as a function of Chl-aconcentration showed a bell-shaped distribution, indicating an optimal organic matter concentration to promote growth. The growth ofAlteromonasandBetaproteobacteriawas especially strongly correlated with organic matter supply. These data elucidate the distinctive ecological role of major bacterial taxa in organic matter cycling during open ocean phytoplankton blooms.


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