Plasticity of grasshopper vitellogenin production in response to diet is primarily a result of changes in fat body mass |
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Authors: | John D Hatle Tony Waskey Jr Steven A Juliano |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA;(2) Department of Biology, University of North Florida, 4567 St Johns Bluff Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA;(3) Department of Biology, Illinois Wesleyan University, 1312 Park Street, Bloomington, IL 61701, USA |
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Abstract: | Life history plasticity is the developmental production of different phenotypes by similar genotypes in response to different
environments. Plasticity is common in early post-embryonic or adult development. Later in the developmental stage, the transition
from developmentally plastic to canalized (i.e., inflexible) phases is often associated with the attainment of a threshold
level of storage. Thresholds are often described simply as total body mass or cumulative consumption of food. The physiological
characteristics of thresholds, such as the contributions of the growth of particular organs or the production rate of proteins,
are largely unstudied. To address the physiology underlying a threshold-induced developmental transition, total vitellogenin
production in response to diet quality in the lubber grasshopper was studied. For individuals that differed in age or dietary
protein, somatic mass, ovarian mass, fat body mass, mass-specific vitellogenin production, vitellogenin titer, and storage
protein titer were measured. Age and diet strongly affected these parameters, with ovarian mass and fat body mass contributing
most to the differences. During mid vitellogenesis, females were highly plastic in response to changing food quality. Only
during late vitellogenesis were females unresponsive to changes in food quality. Fat body mass was a more important component
of plasticity than was mass-specific vitellogenin production. Because these two variables together make up total vitellogenin
production, the greater contribution of fat body mass than mass-specific vitellogenin production suggests that growth factors
may be more important than tissue stimulators in producing developmental changes in total vitellogenin production. To our
knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that mass gain of an organ is more important to developmental plasticity
than is the output of that same organ. |
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Keywords: | Phenotypic plasticity Thresholds Developmental canalization Life history Resource allocation |
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