Abstract
Wing dimorphisms have long served as models for examining the ecological and evolutionary tradeoffs associated with alternative phenotypes. Here, we investigated the genetic cause of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) male wing dimorphism, wherein males exhibit one of two morphologies that differ in correlated traits that include the presence or absence of wings. We mapped this trait difference to a single genomic region and, using third generation, long-read sequencing, we identified a 120 kb insertion in the wingless allele. This insertion includes a duplicated follistatin gene, which is a strong candidate gene in the minimal mapped interval to cause the dimorphism. We found that both alleles were present prior to pea aphid biotype lineage diversification, we estimated that the insertion occurred millions of years ago, and we propose that both alleles have been maintained in the species, likely due to balancing selection.
Highlights
The evolutionary loss of flight ability in insects has long been leveraged to study the patterns and processes of adaptation (Zera and Denno, 1997; Roff, 1990; Harrison, 1980)
Flight-capable and flight-incapable insects present an evolutionary tradeoff between dispersal and reproduction (Zera and Denno, 1997; Harrison, 1980)
We focus here on wing dimorphisms that are under genetic control (Roff, 1986), some species display phenotypically plastic wing dimorphisms (Zera and Denno, 1997)
Summary
The evolutionary loss of flight ability in insects has long been leveraged to study the patterns and processes of adaptation (Zera and Denno, 1997; Roff, 1990; Harrison, 1980). The loss of flight has occurred repeatedly across insect orders, such as ants, termites, beetles, crickets, and aphids (Zera and Denno, 1997), with such evolutionary shifts to flightlessness co-occurring with entry into stable or isolated habitats where flight is unnecessary (Roff, 1990; Wagner and Liebherr, 1992). Flight-capable and flight-incapable insects present an evolutionary tradeoff between dispersal and reproduction (Zera and Denno, 1997; Harrison, 1980). This tradeoff is sometimes observed within species, where some individuals develop with wings and others are wingless. We focus here on wing dimorphisms that are under genetic control (Roff, 1986), some species display phenotypically plastic wing dimorphisms (Zera and Denno, 1997)
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