Haplodiploid Insects Research Articles

The socio-ecology of sex ratio variation in primates: evolutionary deduction and empirical evidence

Fisher (1930, The genetical theory of natural selection. Clarendon Press, Oxford) has shown that evolution on the basis of individual selection must yield population sex ratios of 1.0 (50% males and 50% females), provided that the costs of producing a male or a female are equal, and that there is panmixis. Evolutionary deduction predicts that mechanisms for adaptive sex ratio manipulation could evolve when the above conditions do not hold. Empirical evidence for such adaptive manipulation exists especially for haplo-diploid insects. Here the mechanism by which the manipulation is achieved is evident: selective admission by the female of stored sperm to the maturing ova. For “our kind of animals”, the mammals, both the theoretical models and the empirical evidence are considered much more ambiguous. The primates offer an illustrative case. On the one hand there is the ‘male quality hypothesis’. It predicts that females will shift the sex ratio of their offspring depending on their social position and their condition, provided that status and condition infleunce the competitive potential of their sons. this should apply when the mating system is one of male contest competition, allowing dominant males to monpolize access to fertile females. In this case dominant females should shift the sex ratio towards more sons. There is another hypothesis, a modified version of the ‘local resource competition hypothesis’. It predicts that in female-bonded species, where males tend to emigrate and where natal female kin form within-group power blocks to raise their inclusive fitness, dominant females should shift towards producing more daughters and subordinate females towards more sons. However, empirical data are confilicting: biases towards either side have beenr eported for one and the same species. This has cast doubts whether adaptive sex ratio manipulation exists and all in these and other tax. Forone thing, so-called significant deviations from a 50-50 ratio could be the seletively reported, accidental extremes, from a population with a random 50-50 distribution. Recently Van Schaik and Hrdy (1991) have tried to integrate the earlier ‘male quality’ (MQ) and ‘local resource competition’ (LRC) hypotheses. Their model supposes that the strength of the local resource competition, experienced in a population, is the crucial factor. It predicts that dominant females will choose the ‘male quality’ option when LRC is low. They will choose to ‘strengthen the female power block’ option when LRC is high. The model indeed appears to reconcile the seemingly contradictory results that have been obtained from some cercopithecoid primates. Similarly, recent studies on the influence of social variables in human females, such as dominance status and being socially challenged, on the sex ratio of their offspring seemed contradictory. Here also the van Schaik and Hrdy model offiers a possiblity to accomodate these results. Even though the mechanism(s) by which psychological and conditional factos might affect the sex of mammalian offspring remain largely a matter of speculation, there is increasing evidence that adaptive sex ratio manipulation is a real phenomenon alsoin mammals, that can be accounted for in evolutionary terms.

What generates the diversity of Wolbachia—arthropod interactions?

Wolbachia are strictly endocellular, vertically transmitted bacteria associated with insects and crustaceans. This group of parasites modify their hosts' reproduction so as to increase their own fitness. This paper reviews the variability of these parasitic alterations and their consequences for host biology and populations. Wolbachia induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (a characteristic apparently specific to Wolbachia) in several insects and one isopod crustacean; parthenogenesis (thelytoky) in haplo-diploid insects; feminization in various isopods. The consequences of these phenomena on speciation, population dynamics and genetic polymorphism are discussed. The variability of the mechanisms of host sex determination is one important factor responsible for the diversity of Wolbachia-host interactions. However, parasite characteristics, such as the capacity to disturb host mitosis, and the ability to be horizontally transferred between hosts, also appear to play a role in this diversity.

Haploid and diploid cell cultures from a haplo-diploid insect

Summary This is the first report of haploid and diploid cell culture from the haplo-diploid parasitoid wasp, Mormoniella vitripennis. Cells were cultured from haploid and diploid wasps by collecting populations of eggs from virgin females (unfertilized, haploid, parthenogenetic eggs) and mated females (mostly fertilized, diploid eggs). Eggs were surface sterilized in 70% ethanol, followed by 50% Chlorox, and rinsed in phosphate buffered saline; larvae were allowed to hatch in culture. Larval cells were dissociated and cultured at 28°C in the presence of Grace's medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum. Most cells in the HMV (predominantly haploid) and DMV (predominantly diploid) cell cultures grew in suspension in the first week, formed monolayers of fibroblasts and epithelial cells by the second week in culture, and continued to grow in monolayers and vesicle-like structures for up to three months. Chromosome analysis of HMV. cells demonstrated over 70% haploid cells, with five chromosomes (N=5). The ...

A comparison of genetic variation in two sibling species pairs of haplodiploid insects

A comparison of genetic variation in two sibling species pairs of haplodiploid insects

Estimates of heterozygosity in two social insects using a large number of electrophoretic markers

An extensive electrophoretic survey of enzyme and protein markers was conducted for a haplodiploid eusocial insect, the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), and for a diploid communal insect, the eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum). This survey resulted in the discovery of 110 electrophoretic loci for S. invicta (15 of which were polymorphic at the 95 per cent level) and 37 electrophoretic loci for M. americanum (seven polymorphic). Expected heterozygosities (mean Hexp±S.E.) were 0.051 ± 0.013 and 0.092 ± 0.030 for S. invicta and M. americanum, respectively. Although these values do not differ significantly, they are consistent with the frequently reported pattern of low gene diversity in the eusocial Hymenoptera relative to non-eusocial diploid insects. This pattern persists when a large number of markers is scored in different life stages and castes, as in S. invicta in this study, and when a direct comparison is made using data generated in a single laboratory.

Patterns of inheritance with RAPD molecular markers reveal novel types of polymorphism in the honey bee

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to generate random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) from honey bee DNA samples in order to follow the patterns of inheritance of RAPD markers in a haplodiploid insect. The genomic DNA samples from two parental bees, a haploid drone and a diploid queen, were screened for polymorphism with 68 different tennucleotide primers of random sequence. Parents were scored for the presence or absence of individual bands. An average of 6.3 bands and 1.3 polymorphisms for presence/absence were observed per primer between the parents. Thirteen of these primers were used to determine the inheritance of RAPD marker alleles in the resulting progeny and in haploid drones from a daughter queen. Four types of polymorphisms were observed. Polymorphisms for band presence/absence as well as for band brightness were inherited as dominant markers, meeting Mendelian expectations in haploid and diploid progeny. Polymorphisms for fragment-length were also observed. These segregated in a near 1∶1 ratio in drone progeny. The last type of polymorphism was manifested as a diploid-specific band. Mixing of amplification products after PCR showed that the diploid-specific band was the result of heteroduplex formation from the DNA of alternate alleles in heterozygotes. In two of the four cases of heteroduplex formation, the alternative alleles were manifested as small fragment-length polymorphisms, resulting in co-dominant markers. This is the first demonstration that a proportion of RAPD markers are not inherited in a dominant fashion.

Eusociality in Australian gall thrips

STUDIES of the role of haplodiploidy in the evolution of eusociality have been limited to the Hymenoptera, the only insects known to exhibit both reproductive castes and the haplodiploid genetic system1. Because aculeate Hymenoptera share many other traits that may affect sociality, such as provisioning at nests, powerful flight, mandibulate mouthparts, and stings, it has been difficult to separate the effects of haplodiploidy from other characteristics of this taxonomic group2'3. Here I report the presence of eusociality in a second haplodiploid insect taxon, the order Thysanoptera. Sub-fertile 'soldier' adults of the Australian gall thrips Oncothrips tepperi Karny and O. habrus Mound defend the gall containing their mother and siblings from invasion and takeover by inquiline thrips species and other insect invaders. Australian gall thrips provide remarkable new opportunities for analysing the causes of the evolution of eusociality.

Unmatedness and the Evolution of Eusociality

Previous articleNext article No AccessNotes and CommentsUnmatedness and the Evolution of EusocialityH. C. J. Godfray and A. GrafenH. C. J. Godfray Search for more articles by this author and A. Grafen Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 131, Number 2Feb., 1988 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/284791 Views: 17Total views on this site Citations: 24Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1988 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Adam R. Smith, Karen M. Kapheim, Callum J. Kingwell, William T. Wcislo A split sex ratio in solitary and social nests of a facultatively social bee, Biology Letters 15, no.44 (Apr 2019): 20180740.https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0740Rebecca M. Dew, Simon M. Tierney, Michael P. Schwarz Lack of ovarian skew in an allodapine bee and the evolution of casteless social behaviour, Ethology Ecology & Evolution 30, no.11 (Jun 2017): 51–69.https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2017.1313784Petri Rautiala, Heikki Helanterä, Mikael Puurtinen The evolutionary dynamics of adaptive virginity, sex-allocation, and altruistic helping in haplodiploid animals, Evolution 72, no.11 (Dec 2017): 30–38.https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13399Petri Rautiala, Heikki Helanterä, and Mikael Puurtinen Unmatedness Promotes the Evolution of Helping More in Diplodiploids than in Haplodiploids., The American Naturalist 184, no.33 (Jul 2015): 318–325.https://doi.org/10.1086/677309Andy Gardner Dynamics of sex ratio and female unmatedness under haplodiploidy, Ecology and Evolution 4, no.99 (Apr 2014): 1623–1628.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1045Karen M. Kapheim, Adam R. Smith, Peter Nonacs, William T. Wcislo, Robert K. Wayne Foundress polyphenism and the origins of eusociality in a facultatively eusocial sweat bee, Megalopta genalis (Halictidae), Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67, no.22 (Nov 2012): 331–340.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1453-xAndy Gardner, João Alpedrinha, and Stuart A. West Haplodiploidy and the Evolution of Eusociality: Split Sex Ratios., The American Naturalist 179, no.22 (Jul 2015): 240–256.https://doi.org/10.1086/663683Jacobus J. Boomsma Lifetime monogamy and the evolution of eusociality, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 364, no.15331533 (Nov 2009): 3191–3207.https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0101Thomas W. Chapman, Bernard J. Crespi, Scott P. Perry The Evolutionary Ecology of Eusociality in Australian Gall Thrips: a ‘Model Clades’ Approach, (Jan 2008): 57–83.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75957-7_3Anne Teyssèdre, Denis Couvet, Leonard Nunney LOWER GROUP PRODUCTIVITY UNDER KIN-SELECTED REPRODUCTIVE ALTRUISM, Evolution 60, no.1010 (May 2007): 2023–2031.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2006.tb01840.x Timothy A Linksvayer and Michael J Wade The Evolutionary Origin and Elaboration of Sociality in the Aculeate Hymenoptera: Maternal Effects, Sib‐Social Effects, and Heterochrony Linksvayer, and Wade, The Quarterly Review of Biology 80, no.33 (Jul 2015): 317–336.https://doi.org/10.1086/432266B. Charlesworth, P. H. Harvey, David C. Queller Relatedness and the fraternal major transitions, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 355, no.14031403 (Nov 2000): 1647–1655.https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2000.0727Adam L. Cronin, Michael P. schwarz Sex ratios, local fitness enhancement and eusociality in the allodapine bee Exoneura richardsoni, Evolutionary Ecology 11, no.55 (Sep 1997): 567–577.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-997-1512-3S.A. WEST, E.A. HERRE, S.G. COMPTON, H.C.J. GODFRAY, J.M. COOK A comparative study of virginity in fig wasps, Animal Behaviour 54, no.22 (Aug 1997): 437–450.https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0494Michael P. Schwarz FEMALE‐BIASED SEX RATIOS IN A FACULTATIVELY SOCIAL BEE AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL EVOLUTION, Evolution 48, no.55 (May 2017): 1684–1697.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1994.tb02205.xH. C. J. Godfray, I. C. W. Hardy Sex Ratio and Virginity in Haplodiploid Insects, (Jan 1993): 402–417.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1402-8_12Ross H. Crozier ALL ABOUT (EUSOCIAL) WASPS, Evolution 46, no.66 (May 2017): 1979–1981.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1992.tb01189.xRaghavendra Gadagkar On testing the role of genetic asymmetries created by haplodiploidy in the evolution of eusociality in the Hymenoptera, Journal of Genetics 70, no.11 (Apr 1991): 1–31.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02923575J.J. Boomsma Adaptive colony sex ratios in primitively eusocial bees, Trends in Ecology & Evolution 6, no.33 (Mar 1991): 92–95.https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(91)90182-WPekka Pamilo Evolution of the sterile caste, Journal of Theoretical Biology 149, no.11 (Mar 1991): 75–95.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5193(05)80073-6 H. C. J. Godfray , and J. K. Waage The Evolution of Highly Skewed Sex Ratios in Aphelinid Wasps, The American Naturalist 136, no.55 (Oct 2015): 715–721.https://doi.org/10.1086/285126Jay A. Rosenheim Behaviorally mediated spatial and temporal refuges from a cleptoparasite, Argochrysis armilla (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), attacking a ground-nesting wasp, Ammophila dysmica (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 25, no.55 (Nov 1989): 335–348.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302991S. A. Frank, B. J. Crespi Synergism between sib-rearing and sex ratio in Hymenoptera, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 24, no.33 (Mar 1989): 155–162.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292098H. C. J. GODFRAY Virginity in haplodiploid populations: a study on fig wasps, Ecological Entomology 13, no.33 (Aug 1988): 283–291.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1988.tb00358.x

The population genetics of haplo-diploids and X-linked genes

SUMMARYFrom the available electrophoretic data, it is clear that haplodiploid insects have a much lower level of genetic variability than diploid insects, a difference that is only partially explained by the social structure of some haplodiploid species. The data comparingX-linked genes and autosomal genes in the same species is much more sparse and little can be inferred from it. This data is compared with theoretical analyses ofX-linked genes and genes in haplodiploids. (The theoretical population genetics ofX-linked genes and genes in haplodiploids are identical.)X-linked genes under directional selection will be lost or fixed more quickly than autosomal genes as selection acts more directly onX-linked genes and the effective population size is smaller. However, deleterious disease genes, maintained by mutation pressure, will give higher disease incidences atX-linked loci and hence rare mutants are easier to detect atX-linked loci. Considering the forces which can maintain balanced polymorphisms, there are much stronger restrictions on the fitness parameters atX-linked loci than at autosomal loci if genetic variability is to be maintained, and thus fewer polymorphic loci are to be expected on theX-chromosome and in haplodiploids. However, the mutation-random drift hypothesis also leads to the expectation of lower heterozygosity due to the decrease in effective population size. Thus the theoretical results fit in with the data but it is still subject to argument whether selection or mutation-random drift are maintaining most of the genetic variability atX-linked genes and genes in haplodiploids.

Role of sex ratio in the evolution of eusociality in haplodiploid social insects

In his study of a kin selection model for the evolution of workers' behavior in an incipiently social insect, Craig (1979) found that the haplodiploid mode of sex determination, combined with a female-biased sex ratio, cannot accelerate an evolutionary trend toward eusociality. This seems to contradict to Hamilton's (1964) theory. It is my intention to prove that Craig's result is due to the dependence of relative reproductive success in each sex on the sex ratio of a population. The oviposition of unfertilized eggs by workers is indispensable, in primitive stages in the evolution of eusociality, for maintaining the relative reproductive success of a female. Assuming that workers control the sex ratios, we can distinguish the following three evolutionary phases in accordance with the ratio N 2 N 10 (the ratio of the number of the queen's second brood to that of the progeny laid by workers derived from the same nest). During Phase 1 in which N 2 N 10 < 1 2 , the reproductive successes of a male and a female are equal, and Hamilton's rule holds. In Phase 2 in which 1 2 < N 2 N 10 < 3 2 , the queen produces females, and workers oviposit males. As N 2 N 10 increases, the sex ratio in the whole population becomes female-biased and relative reproductive success of a male increases. In Phase 3 in which N 2/ N 10 > 3 2 , the queen lays some male eggs in addition to female eggs. The sociality threshold ( B C ) crit the minimum value of the benefit/cost ratio leading to the evolution of altruism, is 2 3 on Phase 1. It rises threefold as N 2/N 10 increases in Phase 2, and, in Phase 3, it is twice as high as that in a diploid species. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of workers must have been so developed that they are efficient in helping activities after the beginning of eusociality. The evolutionary process before the beginning of helping behavior is also discussed. The egg laying by unmated females, which stay their mother's nest, seems to have been an important preadaptation for the evolution of eusociality in Hymenoptera.

POPULATION GENETICS OF HAPLODIPLOID INSECTS

Genic variation of seven species of Hymenoptera is described, using electrophoretic techniques. The heterozygosities range from 0.033 to 0.084. An average heterozygosity is calculated for 23 species of haplodiploid insects, and this value is significantly different from the same value for 18 Drosophila species or for 24 diploid insect species (including Drosophila). The niche width-genetic variation hypothesis is rejected as an explanation. A comparison of selection models and neutral models shows that both hypotheses are capable of explaining the data.