Evidence of capacitation in the parasitoid wasp, Nasonia vitripennis, and its potential role in sex allocation.

Alun R C Jones,Eamonn B Mallon

doi:10.1002/ece3.6422

Abstract

The allocation of resources to the production of one sex or another has been observed in a large variety of animals. Its theoretical basis allows accurate predictions of offspring sex ratios in many species, but the mechanisms by which sex allocation is controlled are poorly understood. Using previously published data, we investigated whether alternative splicing, combined with differential gene expression, was involved with sex allocation in the parasitoid wasp, Nasonia vitripennis. We found that sex allocation is not controlled by alternative splicing but changes in gene and transcript‐specific expression, which were identified to be involved with oviposition, were shown to be similar to those involved in sperm motility and capacitation. Genes involved in cholesterol efflux, a key component of capacitation, along with calcium transport, neurotransmission, trypsin, and MAPKinase activity were regulated in ovipositing wasps. The results show evidence for regulation of sperm motility and of capacitation in an insect which, in the context of the physiology of the N. vitripennis spermatheca, could be important for sex allocation.

Highlights

Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling an organisms response to their environment, is one of the key questions of biology
Our aim is to identify if alternative splicing could be involved directly in sex allocation, by searching for an effect caused by foundress number
We identified fewer genes involved in oviposition than Cook et al 2015, have been able to identify enriched Gene ontology (GO)

Summary

Introduction

Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling an organisms response to their environment, is one of the key questions of biology. A fundamental response to the environment is altering the ratio of male and female offspring, this is, sex allocation (Charnov, 1982; West, 2009). Frequency dependent selection, was proposed by Fisher to explain sex allocation dynamics (Fisher, 1999). When Hamilton derived kin selection, he realised that population level competition in species with limited dispersal, would result in competition between kin. He proposed that selection would act to optimise species sex allocation, in order to minimise competition between kin (Hamilton, 1967)

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