HETEROZYGOSITY‐FITNESS CORRELATIONS IN RAINBOW TROUT: EFFECTS OF ALLOZYME LOCI OR ASSOCIATIVE OVERDOMINANCE?

Previous studies with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have shown that increased heterozygosity at allozyme loci is correlated with several phenotypic traits associated with fitness. We expected to find a similar effect of heterozygosity at other nuclear loci if these associations are due to loci in linkage disequilibrium with the allozyme loci (i.e., associative overdominance), rather than the allozymes themselves. We examined the association between multiple locus heterozygosity and condition factor at 10 allozyme and 10 microsatellite loci. Individuals that were more heterozygous at allozyme loci had significantly greater condition factor in two hatchery cohorts of rainbow trout (1996 P = 0.006; 1997 P < 0.001). In contrast, there was no evidence at microsatellite loci that increased heterozygosity was associated with greater condition factor. Our results suggest that the observed relationship between heterozygosity at allozyme loci and condition factor in rainbow trout appears to be due to the allozyme loci themselves, rather than associative overdominance. We cannot, however, rule out that differences in the mutation process between allozymes and microsatellites may be responsible for these observations. Regardless of the underlying mechanism, these results support the view that allozymes and microsatellites are differentially affected by natural selection.     

Effects of sequential pollination on the success of "fast" and "slow" pollen donors in Hibiscus moscheutos (Malvaceae)

Competition among pollen grains for the chance to fertilize ovules typically involves two stages: arrival times on stigmas and/or the growth of pollen tubes through styles. In a previous study of Hibiscus moscheutos, we found that individual pollen donors often differed in pollen tube competitive ability. Here we determined whether short delays in pollen arrival time altered the average success of "fast" and "slow" pollen donors when both types of pollen experienced the same delays. Hand-pollination experiments were carried out using four pairs of pollen donors that differed in competitive ability. We allowed delays of 15 or 30 min between the first and second pollen donor and then determined seed paternity using allozyme markers. The second donor typically sired fewer seeds than pollen that arrived earlier, but, contrary to expectation, "faster" pollen did not always sire significantly more seeds than "slower" pollen when each was applied after delays of the same duration. In two of the four pairs of donors, differences that were seen following simultaneous pollinations disappeared when each type of pollen was applied following identical delays of 15 or 30 min. This unexpected response suggests that the dynamics of pollen tube competition are more complex than anticipated.     

Inferring Genome-Wide Correlations of Mutation Fitness Effects between Populations

The effect of a mutation on fitness may differ between populations depending on environmental and genetic context, but little is known about the factors that underlie such differences. To quantify genome-wide correlations in mutation fitness effects, we developed a novel concept called a joint distribution of fitness effects (DFE) between populations. We then proposed a new statistic w to measure the DFE correlation between populations. Using simulation, we showed that inferring the DFE correlation from the joint allele frequency spectrum is statistically precise and robust. Using population genomic data, we inferred DFE correlations of populations in humans, Drosophila melanogaster, and wild tomatoes. In these species, we found that the overall correlation of the joint DFE was inversely related to genetic differentiation. In humans and D. melanogaster, deleterious mutations had a lower DFE correlation than tolerated mutations, indicating a complex joint DFE. Altogether, the DFE correlation can be reliably inferred, and it offers extensive insight into the genetics of population divergence.     

种子植物的选择性败育及其进化生态意义

种子植物的选择性败育是指植株在花粉源、传粉次序、果实在植株上的位置和发育果实中的种子数目等因素或者这些因素综合作用的基础上对发育中的幼果或种子选择性败育的现象。植株可以选择性地败育位于果序顶部或基部的果实以及位于果实基部、中部或柱头端的种子。此现象在被子植物中比较普遍,特别是在豆科、十字花科和紫草科中最为常见。导致植物选择性败育的主要原因主要有资源限制和遗传因子两个方面。植物通过选择性败育部分自交或基因型较差的果实或种子,不仅可以提高母本和后代的适合度,而且还可以提高果实或种子的扩散效率。因此,对选择性败育的研究在深入了解植物的结实结籽格局、探讨其进化式样与机制等方面具有重要意义。该文系统总结了国际上有关植物选择性败育的研究工作,重点介绍了选择性败育发生的式样、导致选择性败育的因素、选择性败育的进化生态意义,以及目前研究选择性败育现象的主要方法,并对该领域今后研究前景进行了展望。     

抗草丁膦和抗草甘膦转基因油菜的抗性基因向野芥菜的流动

通过人工去雄授粉和田间隔行种植试验,研究了抗草丁膦和抗草甘膦转基因油菜(Brassica napus)中的bar基因和EPSPS基因向野芥菜(B. juncea var. gracilis)流动的可能性。结果表明在人工授粉的情况下,以野芥菜为母本,分别以两种转基因油菜为父本,亲和性指数都很高,达13以上,与野芥菜自交或开放授粉条件下的亲和性指数没有明显差异,说明两种转基因油菜和野芥菜的亲和性较好。经两次除草剂筛选,人工杂交获得的所有F₁对相应的除草剂都表现出了明显的抗性,且经PCR检测扩增出了各自的特异性条带,说明人工杂交获得的所有F₁都携带了相应的抗性基因。F₁的适合度研究表明,两种F₁种子萌发率和母本都没有明显差异,营养生长明显好于母本。但花粉活力和结实率明显下降,携带抗草丁膦基因F₁的花粉活力和每角果粒数分别是32.4%和0.59粒,携带抗草甘膦基因F₁的花粉活力和每角果粒数分别是35.1%和0.58粒。经两次除草剂筛选和PCR检测,表明野芥菜和抗草丁膦油菜或与抗草甘膦油菜田间隔行种植分别能产生0.02%和0.014%的携带抗性基因的F₁杂种。以上结果表明抗除草剂转基因油菜的抗性基因具有向野芥菜流动的可能性,且bar和EPSPS基因向野芥菜流动的可能性类似,但对其可能引起的环境后果需要做进一步地深入研究。     

Parasitism of the grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes by a sarcophagid fly, Blaesoxipha atlanis: influence of solitary and gregarious development on host and parasitoid

Blaesoxipha atlanis (Aldrich) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a common parasitoid of the grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes (F.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in western Canada. We tested the hypothesis that B. atlanis can develop as either a solitary or a gregarious parasitoid, and assessed the influence of parasitism on the growth and survival of infected grasshoppers. Males and females of M. sanguinipes were parasitized manually with one, two, or three first-instar larvae of B. atlanis in the laboratory. Parasitism was more deleterious to males than females of M. sanguinipes; females are larger than males. Host survival and longevity declined with the number of larvae per host in a sex-specific manner. In females, 39%, 24%, and 8% of hosts containing, respectively, one, two, and three sarcophagid larvae survived parasitism. Although 41% of single-parasitized males survived, all males containing more than one larva died. Variations in host quality as measured by dry mass explained much of the response to parasitism in male, but not female, hosts. Parasitoid larvae, apparently, did not cause significant physical damage to host organs and tissues but instead functioned as a metabolic sink. The greater metabolic activity associated with egg production could account for the relatively higher tolerance to parasitism of female, as opposed to male, grasshoppers. Developmental time, adult size, and percentage survival of B. atlanis declined with the intensity of parasitism, especially in parasitoids developing in male hosts. Females developing gregariously contained fewer ovarioles at eclosion than counterparts developing as solitary larvae. The mean body size of field-collected B. atlanis did not differ from that of laboratory-reared parasitoids developing singly in a host. Gregarious development is an alternative strategy to solitary development that may enable B. atlanis to maintain population numbers during periods of grasshopper scarcity.     

Parasitoid-plant mutualism: parasitoid attack of herbivore increases plant reproduction

We tested whether a plant's life time seed production is increased by parasitization of herbivores in a tritrophic system, Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae) plants, Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) caterpillars and the solitary endoparasitoid Cotesia rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). We established seed production for intact A. thaliana plants, plants that were mechanically damaged, plants fed upon by parasitized caterpillars and plants fed upon by unparasitized caterpillars. In the first experiment, with ecotype Landsberg (erecta mutant), herbivory by unparasitized P. rapae caterpillars resulted in a strongly reduced seed production compared to undamaged plants. In contrast, damage by P. rapae caterpillars that had been parasitized by C. rubecula did not result in a significant reduction in seed production. For the second experiment with the ecotype Columbia, the results were identical. Plants damaged by unparasitized caterpillars only produced seeds on regrown shoots. Seed production of plants that had been mechanically damaged was statistically similar to that of undamaged plants. Production of the first ripe siliques by plants fed upon by unparasitized caterpillars was delayed by 18–22 days for Landsberg and 9–10 days for Columbia. We conclude that parasitization of P. rapae by C. rubecula potentially confers a considerable fitness benefit for A. thaliana plants when compared to plants exposed to feeding damage by unparasitized P. rapae larvae. Plants that attract parasitoids and parasitoids that respond to herbivore-induced plant volatiles will both experience selective advantage, justifying the use of the term mutualism for this parasitoid-plant interaction. This type of mutualism is undoubtedly very common in nature.