Abraxas Grossulariata Research Articles

Sex Chromosomes of the Iconic Moth Abraxas grossulariata (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) and Its Congener A. sylvata

The magpie moth, Abraxas grossulariata, is an iconic species in which female heterogamety was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the sex chromosomes of this species have not yet been cytologically identified. We describe the sex chromosomes of A. grossulariata and its congener, A. sylvata. Although these species split only around 9.5 million years ago, and both species have the expected WZ/ZZ chromosomal system of sex determination and their sex chromosomes share the major ribosomal DNA (rDNA) representing the nucleolar organizer region (NOR), we found major differences between their karyotypes, including between their sex chromosomes. The species differ in chromosome number, which is 2n = 56 in A. grossularita and 2n = 58 in A. sylvata. In addition, A. grossularita autosomes exhibit massive autosomal blocks of heterochromatin, which is a very rare phenomenon in Lepidoptera, whereas the autosomes of A. sylvata are completely devoid of distinct heterochromatin. Their W chromosomes differ greatly. Although they are largely composed of female-specific DNA sequences, as shown by comparative genomic hybridization, cross-species W-chromosome painting revealed considerable sequence differences between them. The results suggest a relatively rapid molecular divergence of Abraxas W chromosomes by the independent spreading of female-specific repetitive sequences.

Pheromonal Production of and Response to Optically Active Epoxydienes in Some Geometrid Moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

In pheromone extracts of calling female Chiasma clathrata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), a defoliator pest of alfalfa, (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heptadecatriene and (Z,Z)-6,9-cis-3,4-epoxyheptadecadiene was identified. Chiral gas chromatography using a modified cyclodextrin and synthetic reference samples proved the natural epoxide to show (3R, 4S)-configuration. In field trapping tests, only the pure (3R, 4S)-enantiom er of the epoxide attracted males. The addition of the triene component was synergistic. Males of the sympatric species Tephrina arenacearia Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) were caught only in traps with baits containing the (3S, 4R)-enantiomer [together with a previously described minor component, (Z,Z)-3,9-cis- 6,7-epoxyheptadecadiene]. In trapping tests conducted in a different biotope, Abraxas grossulariata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) males were attracted by the (3S, 4R)-enantiomer, whereas the (3R, 4S)-enantiomer attracted a close relative, Abraxas sylvata Scop. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). The present results suggest that one of the key mechanisms responsible for pheromone specificity among both the two alfalfa geometrids and the two A braxas species in their respective biotops, may be the use of different enantiomers of the same polyenederived epoxide as a sex pheromone component. It is probable that this discrimination mechanism is widespread among moth species utilizing epoxide pheromone components

THE GENETICS OF SEX IN LEPIDOPTERA

THE GENETICS OF SEX IN LEPIDOPTERA

Memoirs: A Study of the Yolk (Y-granules) of the Male Germ-cells

1. Recent researches have established that the Y-granules exist as a fundamental part of the constitution of the male germ-cells of many animals, vertebrates as well as invertebrates. 2. Prior to the application of vital staining techniques to cytological problems, Saccocirrus was the only animal in which these granules were known to exist. 3. The fixatives generally used by cytologists, especially those containing acetic acid and other fat solvents, are not indicated for studying the Y-granules. Vital staining techniques offer the best method for their study. 4. Underfeeding and starvation of the larvae of Agrotis segetum and Abraxas grossulariata revealed that these granules are products of normal metabolic activity, and that their appearance and disappearance depend on the general physiological status of the animal. 5. In normally fed larvae the Y-granules were invariably present, and responded to the vital dye within a few minutes of its application. The germ-cells of underfed larvae showed a steady decrease in their Y-granule contents, as did starved larvae up to a certain stage. When starvation was prolonged the granules disappeared from the cell. 6. The changes produced by underfeeding and starvation in the cell, both in the Y-granule content and the colloidal state of the cytoplasm, were decidedly more pronounced in the spermatocytes than in the spermatids. In very advanced stages of the cell scarcely any change was perceptible. 7. The chemical composition of the granules was determined by studying their reactions to certain vital dyes and fixatives. Neutral red, brilliant Cresyl blue, and Nile-blue sulphate were successfully used to stain the granules, Nile-blue sulphate being particularly satisfactory. This stain is specific for fats and substances chemically allied to fats. 8. Y-granules are composed of either fatty acids or a mixture of fatty acids and neutral fat, because they always stain blue with Nile-blue sulphate. 9. Fixatives containing osmic acid failed to stain the granules except in rare cases when they appeared brown in the preparations. As a rule they appeared a shade of pale grey. As this is a reaction for saturated fatty acids it is believed that in the majority of cases where in fixed preparations the granules are seldom visible, they are composed of saturated fatty acids. 10. The fatty nature of the material was confirmed by fixing testis smears in formalin vapour, and staining them with Herxheimer's solution of acetone and scarlet B. If the preparations are counterstained in methylene blue the Y-granules are clearly seen stained pink--a reaction indicating the fatty acid nature of the granules. 11. An examination of the ovaries of Abraxas grossul ariata, Gryllus domesticus, and Lithobius forficatus, supra vitally stained in neutral red, revealed in everycase a juxtanuclear aggregate of neutral red staining granules. With the growth of the oocytes the granules wandered into the cytoplasm and gradually developed into small spheres; their substance simultaneously underwent a chemical change. By the aid of Nile-blue sulphate it was possible to ascertain that the fatty acid contents of the granules gradually changed into fat, or rather into fatty yolk. 12. The behaviour of the granules in the oocytes suggest that the Y-granules in the spermatocytes are only abortive yolk granules having no function under normal conditions. But a gradual reduction in their number, observed in several spermatocytes when the animals were starved, suggests that under exceptional circumstances there is a possibility of the granules exercising some sort of storage function.

Induced multiplication and growth of Golgi bodies, and alteration of nebenkern pattern and nucleolus in Abraxas grossulariata spermatogenesis

Journal of Experimental ZoologyVolume 60, Issue 3 p. 285-307 Article Induced multiplication and growth of Golgi bodies, and alteration of nebenkern pattern and nucleolus in Abraxas grossulariata spermatogenesis J. Brontë Gatenby, J. Brontë Gatenby Trinity College, Dublin, Irish Free State Theresa Seessel Fellow, Osborn Zoölogical Laboratory, Yale University.Search for more papers by this author J. Brontë Gatenby, J. Brontë Gatenby Trinity College, Dublin, Irish Free State Theresa Seessel Fellow, Osborn Zoölogical Laboratory, Yale University.Search for more papers by this author First published: October 1931 https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.1400600303Citations: 2 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume60, Issue3October 1931Pages 285-307 RelatedInformation

The effect of X-radiation on the spermatogenesis of Abraxas grossulariata

Following work which had already been carried out by us on the effects caused during sperm formation by X-radiation (12), it was considered possible that clearer results might be obtained by using lepidopterous germ cells. The cytoplasmic inclusions of these insects have already been studied by a number of workers, both intra vitam and in fixed preparations (4, 9, 10, 13). The Golgi elements, vacuoles and mitochondria can be seen with ease, in the fresh cell, and the delicacy of these structures in moths led us to believe, that if X-radiation did have any effect on the cytoplasmic bodies, it would be in such examples that observation would be easy.

Further observations on Chromosomes and Sexdetermination in Abraxas grossulariata

ABSTRACT The following paper was left by the late Professor Doncaster in an incompleted condition, and, as I was one of his assistants during his last year ‘s work, it has been entrusted to me to prepare for publication.

Wild Birds and Distasteful Insect Larvæ

IN NATURE of July 24 is a letter from Dr. Walter E. Collinge entitled “Wild Birds and Distasteful Insect Larvae.“ This letter starts with a statement with regard to the distasteful qualities of the larva and imago of the currant moth (Abraxas grossulariata, Steph.), an insect which, of all others, has probably been studied most in this connection. So long ago as 1889 Prof. E. B. Poulton, in his classic work on “The Colours of Animals,” states (p. 169):—“All observers agree that birds, lizards, frogs, and spiders either refuse this species altogether, or exhibit signs of the most intense disgust after tasting it.”

Sex-Limited Factors in Heredity

FEW of the results obtained in recent years by students of heredity on Mendelian lines have appealed to biologists as a whole more forcibly than such cases of “sex-limited” inheritance as are exemplified by colour-blindness in mankind or the special type of wing-marking in the magpie-moth (Abraxas grossu-lariata) described by Dr. Leonard Doncaster in his work on the “Determination of Sex.” Those who have followed the progress of research on the subject during the last five years recognise how important have been the results obtained by Prof. T. H. Morgan and his colleagues in their studies of inheritance in fruit-flies of the genus Drosophila.

On an inherited Tendency to produce purely Female Families in Abraxas grossulariata, and its Relation to an abnormal Chromosome Number

On an inherited Tendency to produce purely Female Families in Abraxas grossulariata, and its Relation to an abnormal Chromosome Number

The Relation between Chromosomes and Sex-determination in “Abraxas grossulariata.”

IN a paper on this subject in the Journal of Genetics (vol. iv., June, 1914, p. 1) I gave evidence that in a strain of A. grossulariata which I have bred for several years two kinds of eggs are produced, having respectively twenty-eight and twenty-seven chromosomes. Since the somatic chromosome-number is fifty-six in the male and fifty-five in the female, it seemed evident that the eggs with twenty-eight were male-determining, those with twenty-seven female-determining. In this strain some families in each generation consist entirely of females, so it was hoped to prove the correctness of the conclusion with regard to sex-determination by finding that in families consisting entirely of females all the eggs contain twenty-seven chromosomes. I have now examined the eggs of several such families, and find, contrary to expectation, that the equatorial plate of the inner polar spindle contains twenty-eight chromosomes about as frequently as twenty-seven. The new material confirms the observation that twenty-seven occur in one spindle and twenty-eight in the other, but it seems to make it certain that the presence of twenty-eight chromosomes in the inner spindle does not necessarily cause the production of a male—at least, in the strain which produces all-female families. A possible explanation of the anomaly is that in all-female families a chromosome is eliminated at a later stage, but at present I have no direct evidence for this. I have material preserved in the hope of testing this suggestion, but the investigation is likely in any case to be a lengthy one, and circumstances may prevent my continuing it for some months. I therefore make this short statement of the facts as at present known, in order that it may not be assumed that the existence of male and female-determining chromosomes has been finally demonstrated in Abraxas.

On an inherited Tendency to produce purely Female Families in Abraxas grossulariata, and its Relation to an abnormal Chromosome Number

1. Families consisting wholly of females have appeared in six successive generations ofAbraxas grossulariata; they may consist ofvar. lacticolor, ofgrossulariata, or of equal numbers of each, according to the constitution of the male parent. 2. In some cases unisexual families have been produced when both parents belonged to bisexual families descended directly from unisexual families. In other cases such matings have given families with great preponderance of females, but some males. 3. About half the females of a unisexual family have only female offspring. Infertility in such families is frequent. 4. The normal number of chromosomes in both sexes, whethergrossulariata orlacticolor, is 56. Females of unisexual families, however, have often, and probably always, only 55. 5. Females of bisexual families, descended directly from unisexual families, have in some cases 56, probably in others 55 chromosomes. As far as is known, males always have 56. 6. It is suggested that the elimination of one chromosome may be correlated with the elimination of thegrossulariata factor. The investigation is not yet far enough advanced to give definite evidence of the relation between the behaviour of the chromosomes and the phenomena of sex-determination in this species.

On an inherited tendency to produce purely female families in Abraxas grossulariata, and its relation to an abnormal chromosome number

On an inherited tendency to produce purely female families in Abraxas grossulariata, and its relation to an abnormal chromosome number

Papers on Heredity

STUDENTS of heredity have followed with the greatest interest Dr. L. Doncaster's experimental and cytological work with the Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata). In the last number of the Journal of Genetics (vol. iv, 1914, pp. 1-21, plates i–iii) he brings forward further interesting results on the relations between chromosomes, sex-limited transmission, and sex-determination in that insect. He confirms the observation that in a strain of Abraxas, which in each generation produces families consisting entirely of females, the oogonia have only fifty-five chromosomes instead of the fifty-six normal to the species. It is thus established that the females are here heterozygous as regards sex-character, whereas in many insects the males are known to be heterozygous. Dr. Doncaster found that one female of this remarkable strain carried fifty-six chromosomes, while other females of the same brood had clearly fifty-five. “In the same brood there was failure of sex-limited inheritance of the grossulariata character [as contrasted with the factor producing the variety lacticolor] in two cases, in such a way that the grossulariata mother transmitted this character to two of her daughters (out of a total of sixteen) instead of, as normally happens, only to her sons. It is suggested that this may be correlated with the extra chromosome found in one female of this family, the grossulariata-bearing chromosome having become separated abnormally from the sex-chromosome.”

On sex-inheritance in the moth Abraxas grossulariata and its var, lacticolor

On sex-inheritance in the moth Abraxas grossulariata and its var, lacticolor

Inheritance and Sex in Abraxas grossulariata

IN February, 1906, in conjunction with the Rev. G. H. Raynor, I gave a paper to the Zoological Society on the inheritance of a variety of the moth Abraxas grossulariata and its relation to sex (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1906, vol. i., p. 129). We found that when the var. lacticolor (flavofasciata) was crossed with the type it behaved as a Mendelian recessive, disappearing entirely in generation F1. When two heterozygotes were mated together, var. lacticolor reappeared, but only in the female sex, roughly half the females and all the males being typical. When a heterozygous male was mated with lacticolor female, the variety appeared in both sexes in the offspring, viz. in about half the males and half the females. When, however, a lacticolor male so produced was paired with a heterozygous female, we found that all the males were typical and all the females lacticolor. This result was given in our paper with some hesitation, since it was founded on a rather small number of specimens (29 O, 11 O+ ), but this year it is amply confirmed. I have reared 116 males and 74 females from six families of this mating, and every male is typical, every female lacticolor. Mr. Raynor has also reared equally large numbers with the same result. From a family of the converse cross, on the other hand (lacticolor O+ X heterozygous O), I have reared 24 type O, 22 lacticolor O, 17 type O+, 18 lacticolor O+, a fair approach to the expected equality in each sex.

The Effect of Food on the Colour of Moths

IN a very interesting paper published in the Journal of Economic Biology (1905, No. 1), Mr. W. E. Collinge describes and figures a remarkable series of specimens of the magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata, Linn.), obtained as the result of raising the larvae on lettuce, the ordinary food being currant. The specimens all differed from the type in the direction of great loss of markings, the most extreme one representing the aberration known as dohrni or deleta. The same sort of effect has been produced on the tiger moth by G. Koch, as a result of feeding the larvae on lettuce; and a good account of various experiments of the same kind is given by Dr. Vernon on pp. 288–9 of his work on “Variations in Animals and Plants” (1903).