薜荔和爱玉及其传粉昆虫繁殖特性

薜荔(Ficus pumila L．var．pumila)隶属桑科榕属,爱玉(F．pumila L．var．awkeotsanmg Corner)为其变种,它们的花是单性的,雌雄异株。雌花序中着生雌花,雄花序中有瘿花和雄花,每个花序中花的数量极多,达4000～6000朵。薜荔榕小蜂是唯一能进入薜荔和爱玉的隐头花序中产卵或传粉的共生昆虫,自然状态下雌花的结实率分别为82％、83．52％;瘿花的成虫瘿率分别为58．71％、51．32％,因此可形成大量的果实和虫瘿。物候观察表明薜荔和爱玉花期不遇,它们花序中的榕小蜂种群已经生殖隔离。人为的放蜂实验表明,生活于爱玉花序中的榕小蜂,已无法在薜荔花序中繁殖,生殖隔离进一步得到证实;实验同时表明爱玉的花粉亦不能使薜荔雌花结实,宿主两变种间生理上已不亲和。本文从共生双方协同进化的角度出发,探讨了榕树2变种间与传粉昆虫繁殖特性的差异,以及变种产生的主要原因。     

Molecular evidence for host–parasite co-speciation between lizards and Schellackia parasites

Current and past parasite transmission may depend on the overlap of host distributions, potentially affecting parasite specificity and co-evolutionary processes. Nonetheless, parasite diversification may take place in sympatry when parasites are transmitted by vectors with low mobility. Here, we test the co-speciation hypothesis between lizard final hosts of the Family Lacertidae, and blood parasites of the genus Schellackia, which are potentially transmitted by haematophagous mites. The effects of current distributional overlap of host species on parasite specificity are also investigated. We sampled 27 localities on the Iberian Peninsula and three in northern Africa, and collected blood samples from 981 individual lizards of seven genera and 18 species. The overall prevalence of infection by parasites of the genus Schellackia was ～35%. We detected 16 Schellackia haplotypes of the 18S rRNA gene, revealing that the genus Schellackia is more diverse than previously thought. Phylogenetic analyses showed that Schellackia haplotypes grouped into two main monophyletic clades, the first including those detected in host species endemic to the Mediterranean region and the second those detected in host genera Acanthodactylus, Zootoca and Takydromus. All but one of the Schellackia haplotypes exhibited a high degree of host specificity at the generic level and 78.5% of them exclusively infected single host species. Some host species within the genera Podarcis (six species) and Iberolacerta (two species) were infected by three non-specific haplotypes of Schellackia, suggesting that host switching might have positively influenced past diversification of the genus. However, the results supported the idea that current host switching is rare because there existed a significant positive correlation between the number of exclusive parasite haplotypes and the number of host species with current sympatric distribution. This result, together with significant support for host–parasite molecular co-speciation, suggests that parasites of the genus Schellackia co-evolved with their lizard hosts.     

The historical biogeography of co-evolution: emerging infectious diseases are evolutionary accidents waiting to happen

Ecological fitting refers to interspecific associations characterized by ecologically specialized, yet phylogenetically conservative, resource utilization. During periods of biotic expansion, parasites and hosts may disperse from their areas of origin. In conjunction with ecological fitting, this sets the stage for host switching without evolving novel host utilization capabilities. This is the evolutionary basis of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Phylogenetic analysis for comparing trees (PACT) is a method developed to delineate both general and unique historically reticulated and non‐reticulated relationships among species and geographical areas, or among parasites and their hosts. PACT is based on ‘Assumption 0’, which states that all species and all hosts in each input phylogeny must be analysed without modification, and the final analysis must be logically consistent with all input data. Assumption 0 will be violated whenever a host or area has a reticulated history with respect to its parasites or species. PACT includes a Duplication Rule, by which hosts or areas are listed for each co‐evolutionary or biogeographical event affecting them, which satisfies Assumption 0 even if there are reticulations. PACT maximizes the search for general patterns by using Ockam's Razor – duplicate only enough to satisfy Assumption 0. PACT applied to the host and geographical distributions of members of two groups of parasitic helminths infecting anthropoid primates indicates a long and continuous association with those hosts. Nonetheless, c. 30% of the host associations are due to host switching. Only one of those involves non‐primate hosts, suggesting that most were constrained by resource requirements that are phylogenetically conservative among primates (ecological fitting). In addition, most of the host switches were associated with episodes of biotic expansion, also as predicted by the ecological fitting view of EIDs.     

Intrinsic inter-specific competition in a guild of tephritid fruit fly parasitoids: Effect of co-evolutionary history on competitive superiority

Tephritid fruit fly parasitoid guilds are dominated by solitary koinobiont species that attack different host stages, but most emerge as adults from host puparia. Previous studies suggest intrinsic competitive superiority by the egg-attacking parasitoid Fopius arisanus (Sonan) against all larval-attacking parasitoids in Hawaii. In this study, we tested the early-acting competitive superiority prediction in relation to the co-evolutionary history of competition between an egg–larval parasitoid (Fopius ceratitivorus Wharton), and each of three larval parasitoids [Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti), Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Fullaway), and Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead)]. F. ceratitivorus and P. concolor share a common origin (eastern Africa), while D. kraussii is an Australian species, and D. longicaudata is from Southeast Asia. The outcomes of intrinsic competition between the egg-attacking parasitoid and each of the three larval-attacking parasitoids within their common host, the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) were compared. F. ceratitivorus invariably eliminated the co-evolved P. concolor through physiological suppression of the later-attacking parasitoid’s egg development, providing evidence that supports the early-acting-superiority hypothesis. However, F. ceratitivorus was unable to suppress development of the two non co-evolved larval parasitoids. Instead, the larvae of both later-acting parasitoid species physically killed F. ceratitivorus larvae inside the host. The results suggest that co-evolutionary history influences competitive superiority. The evolution of inter-specific competition and its implications for biological control are discussed.     

Mutating away from your enemies: The evolution of mutation rate in a host–parasite system

The rate at which mutations occur in nature is itself under natural selection. While a general reduction of mutation rates is advantageous for species inhabiting constant environments, higher mutation rates can be advantageous for those inhabiting fluctuating environments that impose on-going directional selection. Analogously, species involved in antagonistic co-evolutionary arms races, such as hosts and parasites, can also benefit from higher mutation rates. We use modifier theory, combined with simulations, to investigate the evolution of mutation rate in such a host–parasite system. We derive an expression for the evolutionary stable mutation rate between two alleles, each of whose fitness depends on the current genetic composition of the other species. Recombination has been shown to weaken the strength of selection acting on mutation modifiers, and accordingly, we find that the evolutionarily attracting mutation rate is lower when recombination between the selected and the modifier locus is high. Cyclical dynamics are potentially commonplace for loci governing antagonistic species interactions. We characterize the parameter space where such cyclical dynamics occur and show that the evolution of large mutation rates tends to inhibit cycling and thus eliminates further selection on modifiers of the mutation rate. We then find using computer simulations that stochastic fluctuations in finite populations can increase the size of the region where cycles occur, creating selection for higher mutation rates. We finally use simulations to investigate the model behaviour when there are more than two alleles, finding that the region where cycling occurs becomes smaller and the evolutionarily attracting mutation rate lower when there are more alleles.     

Mutation of albedo and growth response produces oscillations in a spatial Daisyworld

We extended a two-dimensional cellular automaton (CA) Daisyworld to include mutation of optimal growth temperature as well as mutation of albedo. Thus, the organisms (daisies) can adapt to prevailing environmental conditions or evolve to alter their environment. We find the resulting system oscillates with a period of hundreds of daisy generations. Weaker and less regular oscillations exist in previous daisyworld models, but they become much stronger and more regular here with mutation in the growth response. Despite the existence of a particular combination of mean albedo and optimum individual growth temperature which maximises growth, we find that this global state is unstable with respect to mutations which lower absolute growth rate, but increase marginal growth rate. The resulting system oscillates with a period that is found to decrease with increasing death rate, and to increase with increasing heat diffusion and heat capacity. We speculate that the origin of this oscillation is a Hopf bifurcation, previously predicted in a zero-dimensional system.     

The conservation of the fishes of Lake Victoria,Africa: an ecological perspective

Synopsis The African Great Lakes are considered to be dynamically fragile ecosystems that are relatively resistant to minor changes with which they have co-evolved but vulnerable to major perturbations such as overfishing, the introduction of alien species and pollution. These lakes are inhabited by large species flocks of cichlid fishes which are characterised by a complex structure of interaction both between and within species, as is typical of mature ecosystems. Major perturbations, such as the disruption of trophic interactions through the introduction of alien fishes, may reverse the domination of relatively precocial, specialised forms and result in the creation of conditions that are conducive to the survival of more altricial, generalised forms with strong colonising abilities. The introduction of Nile perch and Nile tilapia, as well as other alien fishes, into Lake Victoria, combined with overfishing for the indigenous cichlid species, has resulted in marked changes to the fish communities and the fisheries that depend on them. The most important impacts of the Nile perch appear to be predation and aggressive effects whereas those of the tilapias include hybridization, overcrowding, competition for food and possibly the introduction of parasites and diseases. While the three proposed methods of conserving the indigenous flocks of cichlid fishes (captive propagation, reducing Nile perch stocks and closure of the haplochromine trawl fishery) all have merit, the changes that are occurring in Lake Victoria are basically irreversible. The highest priority should be to assist the governments of the riparian countries (Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) with monitoring and research programmes and to support their policies of non-introduction of further alien fishes into any of the African Great Lakes so as prevent the same cycle of events from occurring, for example, in Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi. The diverse animal and plant communities of the African Great Lakes are a heritage of all mankind and it is the duty of every country to play a role in their conservation. It is therefore proposed that an internationally funded research programme should be mounted on the African Great Lakes on the scale of the tropical forest biome project of the IUCN. Editorial     

Nuclear-mitochondrial epistasis for fitness in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In addition to the familiar possibility of epistasis between nuclear loci, interactions may evolve between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in eukaryotic cells. We looked for such interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae genotypes evolved independently and asexually in the laboratory for 2000 generations, and in an ecologically distinct pathogenic S. cerevisiae strain. From these strains we constructed derivatives entirely lacking mitochondrial DNA and then used crosses to construct matched and unmatched pairings of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. We detected fitness effects of such interactions in an evolved laboratory strain and in crosses between the laboratory and pathogen strains. In both cases, there were significant contributions to progeny fitness of both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and of their interaction. A second evolved genotype showed incompatibility with the first evolved genotype, but the nuclear and mitochondrial contributions to this incompatibility could not be resolved. These results indicate that cytonuclear interactions analogous to those already known from plants and animals can evolve rapidly on an evolutionary timescale.     

Neutral drift and polymorphism in gene-for-gene systems

Pathogens are a main driving force of the evolution of plants and animals. Being resistant to diseases confers a high selective advantage to hosts, yet many host–pathogen systems show a remarkable degree of polymorphism of host resistance and pathogen virulence. The most common explanation of this phenomenon is that both resistance and virulence genes are costly and that there is selection against those genes when they are unnecessary. Here, we use stochastic multi‐locus simulations to show that the origin and the maintenance of genetic polymorphism in plant–pathogen systems can be explained without costs. In multi‐locus gene‐for‐gene systems, temporal domination of a super pathogen can cause polymorphism in resistance through neutral drift. With an increasing number of susceptible alleles in the host population, pathogen types other than the super race are able to cause infections and invade the population, leading to higher pathogen diversity and in turn to higher host diversity.