The effect of male mating history on paternal investment, fecundity and female remating in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

1. In many organisms, males provide nutrients to females via ejaculates that can influence female fecundity, longevity and mating behaviour. The effect of male mating history on male ejaculate size, female fecundity, female longevity and female remating behaviour in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus was determined.
2. The quantity of ejaculate passed to females declined dramatically with successive matings. Despite the decline, a male's ability to fertilize a female fully did not appear to decline substantially until his fourth mating.
3. When females multiply mated with males of a particular mated status, the pattern of egg production was cyclic, with egg production increasing after mating. Females multiply mated to virgins had higher fecundity than females mated to non-virgins, and females mated to twice-mated males had disproportionately increased egg production late in their life.
4. Females that mated to multiple virgins, and consequently laid more eggs, experienced greater mortality than females mated only once or mated to non-virgins, suggesting that egg production is costly, and rather than ameliorating these costs, male ejaculates may increase them by allowing or stimulating females to lay more eggs.
5. Females mating with non-virgin males remated more readily than did females mated to virgins. Females given food supplements were less likely to remate than females that were nutritionally stressed, suggesting that females remate in part to obtain additional nutrients.     

Consequences of inbreeding for the cowpea seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.)(Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

Inbreeding is said to reduce vigour and fitness. It may also determine how a population responds to selection. Local populations of Callosobruchus maculatus , the cowpea seed beetle, are established annually from small numbers of founders and the species has been distributed to many parts of the world where isolated populations may have been founded by very small numbers of individuals. After more than 20 generations of inbreeding, inbred lines have been shown to diverge from a common ancestral stock in similar directions with respect of some variables such as developmental speed, but haphazardly in respect of other parameters such as male weight. The respective roles of drift and of selection as effective evolutionary forces in inbred lines are discussed in the light of these results. It is argued that some intraspecific differences in C. maculatus may be explained as a product of periodic inbreeding, but that the process does not impair the ability to adapt to local conditions so contributing to the status of the species as a pest of international importance.     

Environment-dependent reversal of a life history trade-off in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Environmental manipulations have consistently demonstrated a cost of reproduction in the capital-breeding seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, as females deprived of seeds or mates lay fewer eggs and thereby increase their longevity. Yet fecundity and longevity tend to be positively correlated within populations, perhaps as a consequence of individual differences in resource acquisition. We conducted a split-brood experiment that combined a manipulation of seed availability (seeds present or absent) with a quantitative-genetic analysis of fecundity and lifespan in each environment. Each trait was significantly heritable in each environment. Seed availability not only altered mean fecundity and longevity between environments, but also modified how the traits were correlated within environments. The signs of both the phenotypic and genetic correlations switched from positive when seeds were present to negative when seeds were absent. This reversal persisted even after the effect of body mass (a potential indicator of resource acquisition) was statistically controlled. Cross-environment genetic correlations were positive but significantly less than one for each trait. We suggest that the reversal of the fecundity-longevity relationship depends on a shift in the relative importance of resource-acquisition and resource-allocation loci between environments. In particular, a cost of reproduction may be apparent at the individual level only when seeds are scarce or absent because differences in reproductive effort become large enough to overwhelm differences in resource acquisition. Despite their common dependence on resources acquired during larval stages, fecundity and lifespan in C. maculatus do not appear to be tightly coupled in a physiological or genetic sense.     

Sex-specific genetic variances in life-history and morphological traits of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Knowledge of heritability and genetic correlations are of central importance in the study of adaptive trait evolution and genetic constraints. We use a paternal half-sib-full-sib breeding design to investigate the genetic architecture of three life-history and morphological traits in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. Heritability was significant for all traits under observation and genetic correlations between traits (r(A)) were low. Interestingly, we found substantial sex-specific genetic effects and low genetic correlations between sexes (r(MF)) in traits that are only moderately (weight at emergence) to slightly (longevity) sexually dimorphic. Furthermore, we found an increased sire ([Formula: see text]) compared to dam ([Formula: see text]) variance component within trait and sex. Our results highlight that the genetic architecture even of the same trait should not be assumed to be the same for males and females. Furthermore, it raises the issue of the presence of unnoticed environmental effects that may inflate estimates of heritability. Overall, our study stresses the fact that estimates of quantitative genetic parameters are not only population, time, environment, but also sex specific. Thus, extrapolation between sexes and studies should be treated with caution.     

Synergistic effects of geographical strain,temperature and larval food on insecticide tolerance in Callosobruchus maculatus (F.)

This study investigated the multifactorial interaction of various environmental factors including geographical strain (Brazil, Cameroon and Yemen strains), temperature, dose and larval food (cowpea and mungbean) on the response of Callosobruchus maculatus adult to insecticide. All the main factors, their two‐way interactions and the four‐way interaction had significant effects on C. maculatus response to malathion (an organophosphate insecticide). However, the three‐way interactions were not statistically significant (except strain × food × dose, P = 0.002). The Brazil strain was the most responsive to temperature irrespective of the larval food type. The impact of food type differs from one strain to the other; for instance, the food that imparts higher tolerance in a strain might reduce the tolerance in another. Likewise, the hierarchy of tolerance among the cowpea‐reared strains (Brazil > Cameroon > Yemen) was totally different from that of the mungbean‐reared strains (Cameroon > Yemen > Brazil). The reasons for these differences were discussed in the light of their impact on C. maculatus management. Both the management of C. maculatus and development of resistance could be complex; hence, the states of a variety of environmental factors need to be considered. This is necessary to maximize management success of this bruchid, especially in tropical/subtropical developing countries.     

Genetic architecture of population differences in oviposition behaviour of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Few studies have examined the genetic architecture of population differences in behaviour and its implications for population differentiation and adaptation. Even fewer have examined whether differences in genetic architecture depend on the environment in which organisms are reared or tested. We examined the genetic basis of differences in oviposition preference and egg dispersion between Asian (SI) and African (BF) populations of the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. We reared and tested females on each of two host legumes (cowpea and mung bean). The two populations differed in mean oviposition preference (BF females preferred cowpea seeds more strongly than did SI females) and egg dispersion (SI females distributed eggs more uniformly among seeds than did BF females). Observations of hybrid and backcross individuals indicated that only the population difference in oviposition preference could be explained by complete additivity, whereas substantial dominance and epistasis contributed to the differences in egg dispersion. Both rearing host and test host affected the relative magnitude of population differences in egg dispersion and the composite genetic effects. Our results thus demonstrate that the relative influence of epistasis and dominance on the behaviour of hybrids depends on the behaviour measured and that different aspects of insect oviposition are under different genetic control. In addition, the observed effect of rearing host and oviposition host on the relative importance of dominance and epistasis indicates that the genetic basis of population differences depends on the environment in which genes are expressed.     

Selection in a fluctuating environment and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Temperature changes in the environment, which realistically include environmental fluctuations, can create both plastic and evolutionary responses of traits. Sexes might differ in either or both of these responses for homologous traits, which in turn has consequences for sexual dimorphism and its evolution. Here, we investigate both immediate changes in and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in response to a changing environment (with and without fluctuations) using the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. We investigate sex differences in plasticity and also the genetic architecture of body mass and developmental time dimorphism to test two existing hypotheses on sex differences in plasticity (adaptive canalization hypothesis and condition dependence hypothesis). We found a decreased sexual size dimorphism in higher temperature and that females responded more plastically than males, supporting the condition dependence hypothesis. However, selection in a fluctuating environment altered sex-specific patterns of genetic and environmental variation, indicating support for the adaptive canalization hypothesis. Genetic correlations between sexes (r(MF) ) were affected by fluctuating selection, suggesting facilitated independent evolution of the sexes. Thus, the selective past of a population is highly important for the understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of sexual dimorphism.     

Resistance to the cowpea weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus) larva in pods of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

Thirty cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walpers, cultivars were evaluated as intact pods to determine if any possessed resistance to the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabr.). Pod resistance was measured as pre-establishment larval mortality (PreM); those larvae dying after egg hatch but before penetrating into the seeds, and as post-establishment within-seed mortality (PostM); those larvae dying after penetrating into the seeds. Among the 30 varieties examined, PreM ranged from 57.9% to 99.4% and PostM ranged from 6.7% to 82.6%. Ten varieties exhibited total intact pod mortality (mortality from egg hatch to adult emergence from the seed) greater than 95%.Physical measurements were made of several pod and seed characteristics to ascertain whether the observed pod resistance was due to seed factors, pod-wall factors, or to interactions between the pod and seeds. Although resistance to breakage (from handling plus pod dehiscence) is a necessary characteristic for overall pod protection against C. maculatus; other factors are also important. Among the other pod and seed characteristics measured to identify major resistance factors, seed coat thickness was the one most highly correlated with pod resistance. Our results suggest that interactions between pod-wall and seed coat characteristics play a large role in pod resistance of cowpeas to C. maculatus.     

Pheromone release by the two forms of Callosobruchus maculatus females: effects of age, temperature and host plant

Abstract. The influence of age, temperature and host plant on pheromone release was investigated in females of two forms of Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), referred to as the flightless form and the flight form. The emission of pheromone seemed to be correlated with reproductive status: the flightless-form females which were sexually mature at emergence began to release pheromone on the first day following emergence. The flight-form females which exhibited no reproductive activity at emergence also showed a delayed emission of pheromone. The temperature conditions and the availability of host plant seeds had no apparent effect on pheromone release by the flightless form. In flight-form females pheromone release was stimulated by the presence of host plant seeds. Temperature seemed to affect the age at which females initiated pheromone release for the first time after emergence, pheromonal emission being brought forward slightly by higher temperature. All these results are discussed relative to the specific environment of each form.     

Evolutionary genetics of lifespan and mortality rates in two populations of the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus

The age at which individuals die varies substantially within and between species, but we still have little understanding of why there is such variation in life expectancy. We examined sex-specific and genetic variation in adult lifespan and the shape of mortality curves both within and between two populations of the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, that differ in a suite of life history characters associated with adaptation to different host species. Mean adult lifespan and the shape of the logistic mortality curves differed substantially between males and females (males had lower initial mortality rates, but a faster increase in the rate of mortality with increasing age) and between populations (they differed in the rate of increase in mortality with age). Larger individuals lived longer than smaller individuals, both because they had lower initial mortality rates and a slower increase in the rate of mortality with increasing age. However, differences in body size were not adequate to explain the differences in mortality between the sexes or populations. Both lifespan and mortality rates were genetically variable within populations and genetic variance/covariance matrices for lifespan differed between the populations and sexes. This study thus demonstrated substantial genetic variation in lifespan and mortality rates within and between populations of C. maculatus.     

Effect of changes in the thermoperiod on reproductive diapause in Bruchidius atrolineatus Pic (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

Abstract. Bruchidius atrolineatus (Pic) is a tropical bruchid developing in Vigna unguiculata (Walp) pods. Adults are in reproductive diapause during the dry season. In conditions of 40:25C or 35:25C, diapause is induced when larvae develop in thermophases longer than 14 h, in thermophases shorter than 10 h and in continuous darkness. Thermophases of 12 h cause a reduction of the proportion of diapausing beetles. This proportion also depends on the thermoperiod temperatures. Development at low temperatures (23: 16C, 12: 12 h) induces a high percentage of diapausing beetles. However, at low temperatures, the developmental times of the beetles are long and show important interindividual variability. When larvae develop in decreasing temperatures, small changes in thermoperiod temperatures (35:25C to 3O:2OC) have a strong effect on diapause induction. When larvae develop at low temperatures (25:15C) and then at high temperatures (40:25C), the proportion of diapausing beetles depends on the duration of development at low temperatures. Whatever the developmental conditions, both sexually active and diapausing beetles always emerge from the seeds. This interindividual variability is important in this species which has a wide geographical distribution in Africa.     

Impact of the egg parasitoid Uscana lariophaga and the larval-pupal parasitoid Dinarmus basalis on Callosobruchus maculatus populations and cowpea losses

In West Africa, Uscana lariophaga Steffan (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Dinarmus basalis (Rondani) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) parasitize the eggs and larvae, respectively, of Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), an important pest of stored cowpea. The impact of the parasitoids on pest populations was evaluated in clay pots similar to the ones used in traditional storage in Niger. At the beginning of the storage period, cowpeas were infested with one density of C. maculatus and with either one or both of the parasitoid species. If the parasitoids we inoculated as single species in stores, both D. basalis and U. lariophaga significantly suppressed the bruchid population, but the former did so more effectively than the latter. A combination of D. basalis and U. lariophaga resulted in the same suppression of bruchid populations as when D. basalis was the only parasitoid. Fifteen weeks after storage, the parasitoids reduced the number of grains damaged significantly by 38–56%. The effect of inoculating single or multiple parasitoid species on C. maculatus populations in an augmentation strategy is discussed.     

Effect of water content on the gelatinisation temperature of sago starch

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to study gelatinisation phenomena of sago starch. Two endothermic transitions were observed for starch heated in the presence of a limited amount of water (starch/water=37–50%w/w). These transitions appear to be due to co-operative effects of water-mediated melting of starch crystallites, remaining crystallites and/or amylopectin crystallites. At a water content of 50%, evidence of M₁ endotherm was observed and 85°C represents the effective T_m at the end of melting of native sago starch. The effect of starch concentration on the shape of these two endotherms was studied for sago starch. The experimental data were treated thermodynamically by applying equations describing phase transition of semi-crystalline polymers. The T⁰_m value obtained by extrapolation to v₁=0 was 390.6 K for sago.     

Presence of the storage seed protein vicilin in internal organs of larval Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

Variant vicilins (7S storage globulins) of cowpea seeds (Vigna unguiculata) are considered as the main resistance factor present in some African genotypes against the bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus. It has been suggested that the toxic properties of vicilins may be related to their recognition and interaction with glycoproteins and other membrane constituents along the digestive tract of the insect. However, the possibility of a systemic effect has not yet been investigated. The objective of this work was to study the fate of 7S storage globulins of V. unguiculata in several organs of larvae of the cowpea weevil C. maculatus. Results demonstrated binding of vicilins to brush border membrane vesicles, suggesting the existence of specific receptors. Vicilins were detected in the haemolymph, in the midgut, and in internal organs, such as fat body and malpighian tubules. There is evidence of accumulation of vicilins in the fat body of both larvae and adults. The absorption of vicilins and their presence in insect tissues parallels classical sequestration of secondary compounds.     

温度对四纹豆象生长发育与繁殖的影响

四纹豆象CallosobruchusmaculatusFabricius是一种世界性分布害虫,危害多种豆类因而具有重要的经济学意义。为准确掌握四纹豆象的生物学特性,并为其综合防治提供一定的理论依据,以绿豆为食料,在20,25,28,32,35和37℃等6个温度和相对湿度75%的条件下,通过逐日观察法对四纹豆象各虫态的发育历期、存活率、成虫寿命及产卵量等生物学特性进行研究。结果表明:四纹豆象卵期、豆内幼虫及蛹期、未成熟期发育点温度分别为12.67,13.86和13.53℃;温度与世代存活率及周限增长率均呈二次抛物线关系,根据相应抛物线方程可知,四纹豆象理论最适生存温度和最适种群增长温度分别为30.2℃和33.7℃,其生长发育繁殖的最适温区为30~34℃。     

Isomorphic polymorphism in the Platanaceae and Altingioideae and the problem of their relationship

Isomorphic polymorphism is demonstrated by modern and fossil members of the Platanaceae and Hamamelidaceae (subfamily Altingioideae) and is considered as evidence of structural parallelism in the evolution of the Platanaceae and Altingioideae. The supposed relationship between Platanaceae and Altingioideae is discussed from a paleobotanical perspective.     

温度和食用藻密度对发头裸腹潘种群动态和两性生殖的影响

研究了不同温度和食用藻密度对发头裸腹潘种群动态和两性生殖的影响.结果表明:温度、食用藻密度对发头裸腹溞的种群密度、雄体密度和卵鞍数均有显著影响.高食用藻密度组的发头裸腹潘种群密度明显高于中、低食用藻密度组,其最大种群密度出现在20℃下的高食用藻密度组.在相同的温度下,发头裸腹溞的首次产幼溞数随食用藻密度的降低而减少,平均每个母潘首次产出的最大幼潘数出现在25℃下的高食用藻密度组.高食用藻密度组发头裸腹潘产生的雄体密度明显高于中、低食用藻密度组.发头裸腹溞的雄体密度与其种群密度之间存在极显著的相关性.发头裸腹溞所产的卵鞍数随食用藻密度的下降而下降,且25℃下发头裸腹溞所产的卵鞍数明显高于其他温度组.与温度相比,食用藻密度对发头裸腹潘的种群动态和两性生殖的影响更大.     

The ineffectiveness of insecticide seed coatings and planting-time soil insecticides as Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte population suppressors

Abstract:  The effect of any management strategy on pest population levels must be researched and determinations need to be made as to how that strategy might work based on the control objectives. In certain areas of Europe, the objective is to contain or eradicate the western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, population. In order to evaluate the impact of insecticide seed coatings and/or planting-time applications of insecticides as WCR population suppressors, plot trials and large field observations were carried out in Italy over a 5-year period. Larval, pupal and adult densities, along with root damage ratings, were estimated at different locations. Data from these studies revealed that the number of WCR adults emerging from untreated plots did not differ from the number of beetles emerging from those treated with insecticides, whether as seed coating or in-furrow applications. Both seed insecticide coatings (imidacloprid, fipronil, thiamethoxam, tefluthrin) and soil insecticides applied in-furrow (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, tefluthrin) did not reduce the number of beetles emerging from monoculture fields, either in plot trials or large field observations. Observations in the USA had previously shown that soil insecticides applied at planting time partially protected basal roots from economic damage, but did not reduce corn rootworm populations. Similarly, in Europe, it has been demonstrated that not only the application of soil insecticides at planting time but also insecticide seed coatings have no role in the containment and/or eradication of WCR. Although insecticide seed coatings and soil insecticides applied in-furrow may provide protection against economic damage to roots, these management strategies do not have an impact on WCR populations and therefore are useless in WCR containment and eradication programmes.     

Presence and partial characterisation of a major proteolytic enzyme in the larval gut of Callosobruchus maculatus

Protease activity in the gut of larvae of the bruchid beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (a storage pest of cowpea seeds), has been investigated to help clarify nutritional mechanisms in view of reports that these insects carry out little or no proteolysis (Applebaum, 1964). Larval gut homogenates showed protease activity against a variety of different protein substrates, but did not hydrolyse a synthetic trypsin substrate. The proteolytic activity had a pH optimum of 5.4. It was not inhibited by serine protease inhibitors, but was inhibited by reagents reactive against-SH groups. Protein trypsin inhibitors from legume seeds which are not hosts to C. maculatus (soybean, limabean) were not effective inhibitors of the larval proteolytic activity but a cowpea protease inhibitor preparation and aprotinin partially inhibited proteolysis. The latter two inhibitors also inhibited the plant thiol protease papain. It is suggested that C. maculatus has replaced the normal insect proteases with an enzyme similar to plant proteases to evade the antimetabolic effects of trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitors in seeds. Besides trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitors, cowpea seeds also contain proteins which inhibit papain; these inhibitors were purified and were shown to be effective inhibitors of C. maculatus larval protease.

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Mise en évidence et caractérisation partielle d'une enzyme protéolytique importante du tube digestif des larves de Callosobruchus maculatus

Résumé Callosobruchus maculatus attaque les graines stockées particulièrement de Vigna unguiculata. L'activité protéolytique du tube digestif des larves a été examinée. Aucune hydrolyse n'a été observée contre la N-benzoyl arginine p-nitroanilide (substrat de la trypsine synthétique), mais la protéolyse a été mise en évidence en utilisant la viciline de V. unguiculata comme substrat naturel ou la myoglobine comme substrat artificiel, le p.H optimum est de 5,4. Les inhibiteurs chimiques des protéases de la sérine n'ont pas altéré l'activité enzymatique, mais les réactifs du groupe SH l'ont inhibée. Nous suggérons que cette protéase est une thiol protéase, c'est à dire avec un groupe actif semblable à celui de la papaïne, protéase végétale. En accord avec cette hypothèse, les inhibiteurs de protéine efficaces seulement contre la trypsine, c'est à dire les inhibiteurs de la trypsine de Glycine max et de la trypsine de Phaseolus lunatus n'affectent pas cette protéase larvaire, tandis que les protéines avec une faible action inhibitrice contre la papaïne (préparation inhibitrice de la protéase de V. unguiculata, aprotinine) inhibent partiellement la protéolyse par des extraits de tube digestif larvaire.Des inhibiteurs protéiques de papaïne extraits de graines de V. unguiculata sont des inhibiteurs très efficaces de la protéase larvaire. On peut penser que C. maculatus contient une protéase semblable aux protéases végétales, plutôt qu'aux protéases classiques, d'insectes, ce qui permet d'éviter les effets antimétaboliques directs des inhibiteurs de protéase (inhibiteurs de trypsine et de chymotrypsine) trouvés en quantité relativement importantes dans les graines de légumineuses.