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Age, sex, adult and larval diet shape starvation resistance in the Mediterranean fruit fly: an ecological and gerontological perspective.

ABSTRACT: The ability of an animal to withstand periods of food deprivation is a key driver of invasion success (biodiversity), adaptation to new conditions, and a crucial determinant of senescence in populations. Starvation resistance (SR) is a highly plastic trait and varies in relation to environmental and genetic variables. However, beyond Drosophila, SR has been studied poorly. Exploiting an interesting model species in invasion and ageing studies-the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata)- we investigated how age, food and gender, shape SR in this species. We measured SR in adults feeding in rich and poor dietary conditions, which had been reared either on natural hosts or artificial larval diet, for every single day across their lifespan. We defined which factor is the most significant determinant of SR and we explored potential links between SR and ageing. We found that SR declines with age, and that age-specific patterns are shaped in relation to adult and larval diet. Females exhibited higher SR than males. Age and adult diet were the most significant determinants of SR, followed by gender and the larval diet. Starvation resistance proved to be a weak predictor of functional ageing. Possible underlying mechanisms, ecological and gerontological significance and potential applied benefits are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Gerofotis CD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6656776 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Age, sex, adult and larval diet shape starvation resistance in the Mediterranean fruit fly: an ecological and gerontological perspective.

Gerofotis Christos D CD Kouloussis Nikos A NA Koukougiannidou Christiana C Papadopoulos Nikos T NT Damos Petros P Koveos Dimitris S DS Carey James R JR

Scientific reports 20190724 1

The ability of an animal to withstand periods of food deprivation is a key driver of invasion success (biodiversity), adaptation to new conditions, and a crucial determinant of senescence in populations. Starvation resistance (SR) is a highly plastic trait and varies in relation to environmental and genetic variables. However, beyond Drosophila, SR has been studied poorly. Exploiting an interesting model species in invasion and ageing studies-the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata)- we ...[more]

PMID: 31341198

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Project description:Symbioses between bacteria and their insect hosts can range from loose associations through to obligate interdependence. While fundamental evolutionary insights have been gained from the in-depth study of obligate mutualisms, there is increasing interest in the evolutionary potential of flexible symbiotic associations between hosts and their gut microbiomes. Understanding relationships between microbes and hosts also offers the potential for exploitation for insect control. Here, we investigate the gut microbiome of a global agricultural pest, the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata). We used 16S rRNA profiling to compare the gut microbiomes of laboratory and wild strains raised on different diets and from flies collected from various natural plant hosts. The results showed that medfly guts harbour a simple microbiome that is primarily determined by the larval diet. However, regardless of the laboratory diet or natural plant host on which flies were raised, Klebsiella spp. dominated medfly microbiomes and were resistant to removal by antibiotic treatment. We sequenced the genome of the dominant putative Klebsiella spp. ('Medkleb') isolated from the gut of the Toliman wild-type strain. Genome-wide ANI analysis placed Medkleb within the K. oxytoca / michiganensis group. Species level taxonomy for Medkleb was resolved using a mutli-locus phylogenetic approach - and molecular, sequence and phenotypic analyses all supported its identity as K. michiganensis. Medkleb has a genome size (5825435 bp) which is 1.6 standard deviations smaller than the mean genome size of free-living Klebsiella spp. Medkleb also lacks some genes involved in environmental sensing. Moreover, the Medkleb genome contains at least two recently acquired unique genomic islands as well as genes that encode pectinolytic enzymes capable of degrading plant cell walls. This may be advantageous given that the medfly diet includes unripe fruits containing high proportions of pectin. The results suggest that the medfly harbours a commensal gut bacterium that may have developed a mutualistic association with its host and provide nutritional benefits.

Project description:The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (medfly), is an extremely invasive agricultural pest due to its extremely wide host range and its ability to adapt to a broad range of climatic conditions and habitats. Chemosensory behaviour plays an important role in many crucial stages in the life of this insect, such as the detection of pheromone cues during mate pursuit and odorants during host plant localisation. Thus, the analysis of the chemosensory gene repertoire is an important step for the interpretation of the biology of this species and consequently its invasive potential. Moreover, these genes may represent ideal targets for the development of novel, effective control methods and pest population monitoring systems. Expressed sequence tag libraries from C. capitata adult heads, embryos, male accessory glands and testes were screened for sequences encoding putative odorant binding proteins (OBPs). A total of seventeen putative OBP transcripts were identified, corresponding to 13 Classic, three Minus-C and one Plus-C subfamily OBPs. The tissue distributions of the OBP transcripts were assessed by RT-PCR and a subset of five genes with predicted proteins sharing high sequence similarities and close phylogenetic affinities to Drosophila melanogaster pheromone binding protein related proteins (PBPRPs) were characterised in greater detail. Real Time quantitative PCR was used to assess the effects of maturation, mating and time of day on the transcript abundances of the putative PBPRP genes in the principal olfactory organs, the antennae, in males and females. The results of the present study have facilitated the annotation of OBP genes in the recently released medfly genome sequence and represent a significant contribution to the characterisation of the medfly chemosensory repertoire. The identification of these medfly OBPs/PBPRPs permitted evolutionary and functional comparisons with homologous sequences from other tephritids of the genera Bactrocera and Rhagoletis.

Dataset Information

Age, sex, adult and larval diet shape starvation resistance in the Mediterranean fruit fly: an ecological and gerontological perspective.

Publications

Age, sex, adult and larval diet shape starvation resistance in the Mediterranean fruit fly: an ecological and gerontological perspective.

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