Dataset Information

Innate Host Habitat Preference in the Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata: Functional Significance and Modifications through Learning.

ABSTRACT: Parasitoids searching for polyphagous herbivores can find their hosts in a variety of habitats. Under this scenario, chemical cues from the host habitat (not related to the host) represent poor indicators of host location. Hence, it is unlikely that naïve females show a strong response to host habitat cues, which would become important only if the parasitoids learn to associate such cues to the host presence. This concept does not consider that habitats can vary in profitability or host nutritional quality, which according to the optimal foraging theory and the preference-performance hypothesis (respectively) could shape the way in which parasitoids make use of chemical cues from the host habitat. We assessed innate preference in the fruit fly parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata among chemical cues from four host habitats (apple, fig, orange and peach) using a Y-tube olfactometer. Contrary to what was predicted, we found a hierarchic pattern of preference. The parasitism rate realized on these fruit species and the weight of the host correlates positively, to some extent, with the preference pattern, whereas preference did not correlate with survival and fecundity of the progeny. As expected for a parasitoid foraging for generalist hosts, habitat preference changed markedly depending on their previous experience and the abundance of hosts. These findings suggest that the pattern of preference for host habitats is attributable to differences in encounter rate and host quality. Host habitat preference seems to be, however, quite plastic and easily modified according to the information obtained during foraging.

SUBMITTER: Segura DF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4805301 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Innate Host Habitat Preference in the Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata: Functional Significance and Modifications through Learning.

Segura Diego F DF Nussenbaum Ana L AL Viscarret Mariana M MM Devescovi Francisco F Bachmann Guillermo E GE Corley Juan C JC Ovruski Sergio M SM Cladera Jorge L JL

PloS one 20160323 3

Parasitoids searching for polyphagous herbivores can find their hosts in a variety of habitats. Under this scenario, chemical cues from the host habitat (not related to the host) represent poor indicators of host location. Hence, it is unlikely that naïve females show a strong response to host habitat cues, which would become important only if the parasitoids learn to associate such cues to the host presence. This concept does not consider that habitats can vary in profitability or host nutritio ...[more]

PMID: 27007298

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Project description:BackgroundDiachasmimorpha longicaudata is a hymenopteran fruit fly endoparasitoid. Females of this species find their hosts for oviposition by using complex sensorial mechanisms in response to physical and chemical stimuli associated with the host and host habitat. Ecological and behavioral aspects related to host-seeking behavior for oviposition have been extensively studied in D. longicaudata, including the identification of volatile organic compounds acting as attractants to females. In this sense, molecular mechanisms of chemoreception have been explored in this species, including a preliminary characterization of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs) and odorant receptors (ORs), among other proteins. Functional assays on OBP and CSP have been conducted as a first approach to identify molecular mechanisms associated with the female host-seeking behavior for oviposition. The aims of the present study were to identify the D. longicaudata sensory gene repertoire expressed in the antenna of sexually mature and mated individuals of both sexes, and subsequently, characterize transcripts differentially expressed in the antennae of females to identify candidate genes associated with the female host-seeking behavior for oviposition.ResultsA total of 33,745 predicted protein-coding sequences were obtained from a de novo antennal transcriptome assembly. Ten sensory-related gene families were annotated as follows: 222 ORs, 44 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 25 gustatory receptors (GRs), 9 CSPs, 13 OBPs, 2 ammonium transporters (AMTs), 8 pickpocket (PPKs) receptors, 16 transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, 12 CD36/SNMPs and 3 Niemann-Pick type C2 like proteins (NPC2-like). The differential expression analysis revealed 237 and 151 transcripts up- and downregulated, respectively, between the female and male antennae. Ninety-seven differentially expressed transcripts corresponded to sensory-related genes including 88 transcripts being upregulated (87 ORs and one TRP) and nine downregulated (six ORs, two CSPs and one OBP) in females compared to males.ConclusionsThe sensory gene repertoire of D. longicaudata was similar to that of other taxonomically related parasitoid wasps. We identified a high number of ORs upregulated in the female antenna. These results may indicate that this gene family has a central role in the chemoreception of sexually mature females during the search for hosts and host habitats for reproductive purposes.

Project description:Diachasmimoorpha longicaudata (Ashmead, D. longicaudata) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a solitary species of parasitoid wasp and widely used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs as a biological control agent in order to suppress tephritid fruit flies of economic importance. Although many studies have investigated the behaviors in the detection of their hosts, little is known of the molecular information of their chemosensory system. We assembled the first transcriptome of D. longgicaudata using transcriptome sequencing and identified 162,621 unigenes for the Ashmead insects in response to fruit flies fed with different fruits (guava, mango, and carambola). We annotated these transcripts on both the gene and protein levels by aligning them to databases (e.g., NR, NT, KEGG, GO, PFAM, UniProt/SwissProt) and prediction software (e.g., SignalP, RNAMMER, TMHMM Sever). CPC2 and MIREAP were used to predict the potential noncoding RNAs and microRNAs, respectively. Based on these annotations, we found 43, 69, 60, 689, 26 and 14 transcripts encoding odorant-binding protein (OBP), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), gustatory receptor (GR), odorant receptor (OR), odorant ionotropic receptor (IR), and sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMP), respectively. Sequence analysis identified the conserved six Cys in OBP sequences and phylogenetic analysis further supported the identification of OBPs and CSPs. Furthermore, 9 OBPs, 13 CSPs, 3 GRs, 4IRs, 25 ORs, and 4 SNMPs were differentially expressed in the insects in response to fruit flies with different scents. These results support that the olfactory genes of the parasitoid wasps were specifically expressed in response to their hosts with different scents. Our findings improve our understanding of the behaviors of insects in the detection of their hosts on the molecular level. More importantly, it provides a valuable resource for D. longicaudata research and will benefit the IPM programs and other researchers in this filed.

Dataset Information

Innate Host Habitat Preference in the Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata: Functional Significance and Modifications through Learning.

Publications

Innate Host Habitat Preference in the Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata: Functional Significance and Modifications through Learning.

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