It is not only group size: Soldiers also modulate the tolerance to insecticide in termites (Blattodea: Isoptera)

The survivorship of social insects is known to increase with group size, even in situations of stress, such as starvation and exposure to insecticides. However, in termites, studies have been undertaken only with workers, disregarding the possible effect of soldiers. The role of soldiers in the termite colonies goes beyond defense, mainly in Nasutitermes species. It is already known that soldiers initiate the foraging as well as improve the decision-making of food resources. Here, we evaluated the effect of group size and the presence of soldiers on exposure to sublethal doses of the insecticide imidacloprid in Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). To do so, toxicity bioassays were undertaken initially to determine the dose of the insecticide required to kill 50% of the N. corniger population (LD₅₀) to be used in the main experiments. Survival bioassays were then carried out with termite groups, with and without soldiers, in different sizes (6, 10, 14, 22, 26, 30 and 60), exposed and nonexposed to insecticide. In general, the mean time to death of termites increases linearly with group size. However, the mean time to death in groups with soldiers was significantly longer only in groups exposed to the insecticide. Our results indicate that soldiers can help to increase the tolerance of nasute termite groups to insecticides, in addition to the group size, as already shown in the previous study. The size of the group and social context could, therefore, modulate behavioral and/or physiological responses that enhance the ability to survive under stressful situations.     

Phenotypic plasticity and selection in Drosophila life history evolution. 2. Diet,mates and the cost of reproduction

While it is commonplace for biologists to use the response to environmental manipulation as a guide to evolutionary responses to selection, the relationship between phenotypic plasticity and genetic change is not generally well-established. The life-histories of laboratory Drosophila populations are among the few experimental systems which simultaneously afford information on phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary trajectories. We employed a combination of two replicated selectively differentiated stocks (postponed aging stocks and their controls; 10 populations in total) and two different environmental manipulations (nutrition and mating) to explore the empirical relationship between phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary trajectories. While there are a number of parallels between the results obtained using these two approaches, there are important differences. In particular, as the detail of the biological characterization of either type of response increases, so their disparities multiply. Nonetheless, the combination of environmental manipulation with evolutionary divergence provides valuable information about the biological connections between life-history, caloric reserves, and reproductive physiology in Drososphila.     

Dietary regulation of hypodermal polyploidization in <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. elegans</Emphasis>

Background  

Dietary restriction (DR) results in increased longevity, reduced fecundity and reduced growth in many organisms. Though many studies have examined the effects of DR on longevity and fecundity, few have investigated the effects on growth.     

Phenotypic plasticity and selection in Drosophila life-history evolution. I. Nutrition and the cost of reproduction

Earlier experiments have shown that the evolution of postponed senescent populations can be achieved by selection on either demographic or stress resistance characters. Both types of selection have produced results in which survival characters (stress resistance and longevity) have apparently traded-off against early-life fecundity. Here we present the results of a series of experiments in which an environmental variable — the level of live yeast inoculate applied to the substrate — produces a qualitatively similar phenotypic response: longevity and starvation resistance are enhanced by lower yeast levels, at the expense of fecundity. For the starvation resistance versus fecundity experiments we show a negative and linear relationship between the norms of reaction for each character across a gradient of yeast levels. This phenotypic trade-off is stable across the 20 populations and 4 selection treatments reported on here, and its general agreement with earlier selection results suggests that the evolutionary response and the phenotypically plastic response may share a common physiological basis. However, an important discrepancy in the lifetime fecundity data between the selection response and the dietary manipulations preclude strict analogy. The results broadly conform to a simple “Y-model” of allocation, in which a limited resource is divided between survival and reproduction; here the characters are starvation resistance and longevity versus fecundity.     

ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF A TRANSMISSIBLE CANCER

Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is an infectious disease of dogs. Remarkably, the infectious agent is the cancerous cell itself. To investigate its origin and spread, we collected 37 tumor samples from four continents and determined their evolutionary relationships using microsatellite length differences and microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). The different tumors show very little microsatellite variation, and the pattern of variation that does exist is consistent with a purely asexual mode of transmission. Approximately one quarter of the loci scored by aCGH show copy number variation relative to normal dogs, again with little variation among different tumor samples. Sequence analysis of the RPPH1 gene indicates an origin from either dogs or wolves, and microsatellite analysis indicates that the tumor is more than 6000 years old, and perhaps originated when dogs were first domesticated. By contrast, the common ancestor of extant tumors lived within the last few hundred years, long after the first tumor. The genetic and genomic patterns we observe are typical of those expected of asexual pathogens, and the extended time since first origin may explain the many remarkable adaptations that have enabled this mammalian cell lineage to live as a unicellular pathogen.     

Regulation de la production ovarienne chez Acanthoscelides obtectus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae): Influence de l'age des femelles lors de la fecondation et de la presence des grains

Résumé Des femelles alimentées d'une souche francaise de bruche du haricot, fécondées peu après leur émergence, ne sont mises en présence des grains de la plante-hôte qu'après un délai plus ou moins long: jusqu'à 50 jours de délai, la stimulation de la production ovarienne est aussi forte que chez les femelles mises avec des grains dès la copulation, mais la proportion d'oeufs émis est plus faible.D'autre part, à âge identique, les effets de la stimulation de la production ovarienne sont plus marqués lorsqu'il y a retard simultané de la fécondation et de la présence des grains que lorsque celle-ci est retardée par rapport à la fécondation.Ce n'est pas chez les femelles les plus jeunes que les effects de la stimulation combinée et simultanée de la production ovarienne sont les plus importants, mais chez des femelles âgées de 20 à 30 jours. Cet âge correspond à la fin de la période de mâturation du stock de base d'ovocytes formés à partir du corps gras, mâturation qui s'effectue de toute façon, même en absence de tout stimulus externe.

---

Regulation of egg production in Acanthoscelides obtectus (Coleoptera: Bruchudae): The change in stimulating effect of grain of females of different ages

Summary Females from a French strain of Acanthoscelides obtectus were mated soon after emergence, and after various lengths of time presented with host plant seeds. Even after a deley of 50 days, stimulation of the ovaries occurred as it did when females were presented with seeds as soon as copulation took place, but fewer eggs were produced. For insects of similar age, the stimulating effect of the seeds was greater if they were present when the females were first mated, than if they were presented after a delay. The stimulating effects were greatest in females aged between 20 and 30 days. This age corresponds to the end of the maturation period of the initial stock of ovocytes. This maturation would normally occur even in the absence of external stimuli.

     

RELATIONS D‘ACANTHOSCELIDES OBTECTUS AVEC DIFFÉRENTES ESPÈCES DE PHASEOLUS: INFLUENCE SUR LA FÉCONDITÉ ET POSSIBILITÉS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT LARVAIRE

Résumé La présence des gousses et graines de six espèces de Phaseolus déclenche une ponte importante chez A. obtectus et stimule significativement la production ovarienne. Cependant, les meilleures performances ne sont pas observées avec P. vulgaris, hôte habituel, mais avec P. coccineus.Pour toutes ces espèces le tégument de la graine représente une barrière importante pour la pénétration des larves. Chez certaines espèces sauvages, et dans les conditions expérimentales, il permet une protection totale de la graine. Cette protection semble diminuer avec la domestication chez P. vulgaris.Lorsque les graines sont perforées artificiellement, les larves (une par graine) pénètrent sans difficulté, quelle que soit l'espèce. Les graines de P. coccineus et de P. vulgaris permettent le développement complet de la majorité des larves, tandis que dans celles de P. metcalfei et de P. acutifolius ne peut se développer qu'une faible partie de la population larvaire. Certains Phaseolinae peuvent donc stimuler la ponte sans permettre le développement des larves.Les femelles de la F₁ provenant de P. coccineus ont des performances reproductrices supérieures à celles des femelles provenant de P. vulgaris (variétés sauvage ou cultivée). P. coccineus pourrait être considéré comme une des plantes-hôtes d'origine.

---

Summary The presence of pods and seeds of six Phaseolus species induces significant egg-laying in A. obtectus and strongly stimulates ovarian production. However, the best performances are not observed with P. vulgaris, the common host, but with P. coccineus.For all six species, the seed testa is an important barrier against larval penetration. For some wild species, it can give total protection of the seed, but this protection is reduced with domestication in P. vulgaris.For all species, when the seeds are artificially perforated, larvae (one per seed) penetrate easily. Most of the larvae can complete their development in seeds of P. coccineus and P. vulgaris, but only a small proportion of the larval population can develop in seeds of P. metcalfei and P. acutifolius. Thus certain Phaseolinae seeds stimulate egg-laying without allowing larval growth.Females of the F₁ reared in P. coccineus have superior reproductive capacities than those reared in P. vulgaris. P. coccineus could be considered as one of the original host-plants of A. obtectus.