Fitness traits and underlying genetic variation related to host plant specialization in the aphid Sitobion avenae

Sitobion avenae （E） is an important cereal pest worldwide that can survive on various plants in the Poaceae, but divergent selection on different host plants shouldpromote the evolution of specialized genotypes or host races. In order to evaluate their resource use strategies, clones of S. avenae were collected from oat and barley. Host-transfer experiments for these clones were conducted in the laboratory to compare their fitness traits. Our results demonstrated that barley clones had significantly lower fecundityand tended to have longer developmental times when transferred from barley to oat. However, oat clones developed faster after they were transferred to barley. Clones fromoat and barley had diverged to a certain extent in terms of fecundity and developmental time of the nymphs. The separation of barley clones and oat clones of S. avenae was alsoevident in a principal component analysis. Barley clones tended to have higher broad-sense heritabilities for fitness traits than oat clones, indicating the genetic basis of differentiationbetween them. Barley clones showed significantly higher extent of specialization compared to oat clones from two measures of specialization （i.e., Xsp and Ysp）. Therefore, barleyclones were specialized to a certain extent, but oat clones appeared to be generalized. The fitness of S. avenae clones tended to increase with higher extent of specialization. Theevolution toward ecological specialization in S. avenae clones, as well as the underlying genetic basis, was discussed.     

Environment,not phylogeny,drives herbivory and leaf attributes in trees from two contrasting forest formations of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

ABSTRACT

Background

The degree of herbivory in plants can be related to leaf traits, which are, in turn, determined by phylogeny and environment.     

Biological characterization of two biotypes of pea aphid, one susceptible and the other resistant to fungal pathogens, coexisting on lucerne in Australia

In Australia, field infestations of lucerne, Medicago sativa L., by the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), have been found to contain a sub-dominant biotype resistant to some fungal pathogens of the genus, Erynia. Population parameters have been studied in laboratory cultures of the susceptible and resistant biotypes from two localities. Compared with the susceptible one the resistant biotype had a greater intrinsic rate of increase at high temperature and a reduced propensity to form wings in response to a crowding stimulus. As both these characteristics would help to increase the proportion of the resistant biotype in infestations, the continued co-existence of the two biotypes poses an interesting ecological problem.

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Résumé En Australie, quand il y a contamination de la luzerne par Acrythosiphon pisum Harris, on observe un biotype sub-dominant résistant au champignon pathogène Erynia ssp. L'élevage au laboratoire a permis l'étude des paramètres démographiques comprenant le taux de développement, la survie et la fécondité sur les deux types (sensible et résistant) de deux origines géographiques. Le biotype résistant a présenté un taux intrinsèque d'accroissement plus élevé à 24°C; assez pour doubler le nombre de pucerons résistants par rapport aux sensibles en une génération. Le biotype résistant a montré aussi une tendance plus faible à produire des ailés en réponse à des stimulus de surpeuplement. Comme ces deux caractères devraient provoquer l'accroissement du biotype résistant pendant les pullulations, la coexistence continue des deux biotypes pose un problème écologique intéressant.

     

Even population differentiation for maternal and biparental gene markers in Eugenia uniflora, a widely distributed species from the Brazilian coastal Atlantic rain forest

Brazilian cherry (Eugenia uniflora L.) occurs in the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal Tropical Forest from the north‐eastern state of Ceara, to the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. E. uniflora plays an important role in the maintenance of ‘Restinga’ ecosystems, at the interface between forest and strand vegetation. Here, we characterize the genetic diversity, its allocation within and between populations and the possible components of nuclear and cytoplasmic gene flow that determine the spatial distribution of the genetic variability. Five E. uniflora populations encompassing distinct biogeographical components were sampled: populations at extremes of latitudinal distribution, at an oceanic island and close to the major urban centre of Rio de Janeiro. AFLP markers showed that genetic variance among studied populations was moderate (F_st = 0.211) with 78.9% of variability residing within populations. The estimated seed and pollen components of gene flow among populations were approximately equal, with a ratio between 1.003 and 0.713 in function of the cpDNA marker used. The five populations present a considerable genetic structure, as assigned by both nuclear and chloroplastic DNA markers. Our data suggest the existence of different glacial refugia and a limited pollen and seed gene flow, mainly between the southern and the other regions enclosed in the Atlantic rain forest. Therefore, any strategy of conservation and management has to assure the preservation of several populations along the Atlantic coast, to maintain the majority of the intra specific level of diversity.