Insect Developmental Plasticity: The Role in a Changing Environment

Barnes, Lindsey A

doi:10.18297/tce/vol1/iss1/28

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…These ideas underscore the importance of integrating developmental plasticity into research about the biological consequences of climate change (e.g. Barnes, 2021;Rodrigues & Beldade, 2020;Sgrò et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

van Bergen,

Atencio,

Saastamoinen

et al. 2024

Functional Ecology

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Phenotypic variation in natural populations results from complex interactions between organisms and their changing environments. The environment shapes both phenotypic frequencies (during adaptation) and organismal phenotypes (through phenotypic plasticity). Developmental plasticity, in particular, refers to the phenomenon whereby an organism's phenotype depends on the environmental conditions during development. It can match phenotype to ecological conditions and help organisms to cope with environmental heterogeneity, including differences between alternating seasons. Experimental studies of developmental plasticity often focus on the impact of individual environmental cues and do not take explicit account of genetic variation. In contrast, natural environments are complex, comprising multiple variables with combined effects that are poorly understood and may vary among genotypes. We investigated the effects of multifactorial environments on the development of the seasonally plastic eyespots of Bicyclus anynana butterflies. Eyespot size depends on developmental temperature and is involved in alternative seasonal strategies for predator avoidance. In nature, both temperature and food availability undergo seasonal fluctuations. However, our understanding of how thermal plasticity in eyespot size varies in response to food availability and across genotypes remains limited. To address this, we investigated the combined effects of temperature (T; two levels: 20°C and 27°C) and food availability (N; two levels: control and limited) during development. We examined their impact on wing and eyespot size in adult males and females from multiple genotypes (G; 28 families). We found evidence of thermal and nutritional plasticity and temperature‐by‐nutrition interactions (significant T × N) on the size of eyespots in both sexes. Food limitation resulted in relatively smaller eyespots and tempered the effects of temperature. Additionally, we found differences among families for thermal plasticity (significant G × T effects), but not for nutritional plasticity (non‐significant G × N effects) nor for the combined effects of temperature and food limitation (non‐significant G × T × N effects). Our results reveal the context dependence of thermal plasticity, with the slope of thermal reaction norms varying across genotypes and across nutritional environments. We discuss these results in the light of the ecological significance of pigmentation and the value of considering thermal plasticity in studies of the biological impact of climate change. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

van Bergen,

Atencio,

Saastamoinen

et al. 2024

Functional Ecology

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“…Being highly migratory, BPH populations often invade and colonise different agro-climatic zones of the world [ 6 ]. Their capacity to rapidly adapt to different environments and ability to tolerate various biotic and abiotic stresses indicate the existence of physiological, biochemical and/or genetic plasticity within BPH populations, which, under certain circumstances, allows some individuals to survive better and outperform other members of the population and thereby, leading to adaptation [ 7 ]. Previous studies have demonstrated that BPH in the subtropical and temperate regions with almost round-the-year rice cultivation shows seasonal variations, which is linked to the region’s cropping pattern(s) [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epigenetic Diversity Underlying Seasonal and Annual Variations in Brown Planthopper (BPH) Populations as Revealed by Methylationsensitive Restriction Assay

Gupta,

Nair

2023

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Background:: The brown planthopper (BPH) is a monophagous sap-sucking insect pest of rice that is responsible for massive yield loss. BPH populations, even when genetically homogenous, can display a vast range of phenotypes, and the development of effective pest-management strategies requires a good understanding of what generates this phenotypic variation. One potential source could be epigenetic differences. Methods:: With this premise, we explored epigenetic diversity, structure and differentiation in field populations of BPH collected across the rice-growing seasons over a period of two consecutive years. Using a modified methylation-sensitive restriction assay (MSRA) and CpG island amplification- representational difference analysis, site-specific cytosine methylation of five stress-responsive genes (CYP6AY1, CYP6ER1, Carboxylesterase, Endoglucanase, Tf2-transposon) was estimated, for identifying methylation-based epiallelic markers and epigenetic variation across BPH populations. Results:: Screening field-collected BPH populations revealed the presence of previously unreported epigenetic polymorphisms and provided a platform for future studies aimed at investigating their significance for BPH. Furthermore, these findings can form the basis for understanding the contribution(s) of DNA methylation in providing phenotypic plasticity to BPH. Conclusion:: Screening field-collected BPH populations revealed the presence of previously unreported epigenetic polymorphisms and provided a platform for future studies aimed at investigating their significance for BPH. Furthermore, these findings can form the basis for understanding the contribution(s) of DNA methylation in providing phenotypic plasticity to BPH.

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Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

van Bergen,

Atencio,

Saastamoinen

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Developmental plasticity refers to the phenomenon whereby an organism’s phenotype depends on the environmental conditions experienced during development. This plasticity can match phenotype to ecological conditions and help organisms to cope with environmental heterogeneity, including differences between alternating seasons. Experimental studies of developmental plasticity often focus on the impact of individual environmental cues and do not take explicit account of genetic variation. In contrast, natural environments are complex, comprising multiple variables with combined effects that are poorly understood and may vary among genotypes. We investigated the effects of multifactorial environments on the development of the seasonally plastic eyespots ofBicyclus anynanabutterflies. Eyespot size is known to depend on developmental temperature and to be involved in alternative seasonal strategies for predator avoidance. In nature, both temperature and food availability undergo seasonal fluctuations. However, our understanding of whether thermal plasticity in eyespot size varies in relation to food availability and across genotypes remains limited. To address this, we investigated the combined effects of temperature (T; two levels: 20°C and 27°C) and food availability (N; two levels: control and limited) during development. We examined their impact on wing and eyespot size in adult males and females from multiple genotypes (G; 28 families). We found evidence of thermal and nutritional plasticity, and of temperature-by-nutrition interactions (significant TxN) on the size of eyespots in both sexes. Food limitation resulted in relatively smaller eyespots and tempered the effects of temperature. Additionally, we found differences among families for thermal plasticity (significant GxT effects), but not for nutritional plasticity (non-significant GxN effects) nor for the combined effects of temperature and food limitation (non-significant GxTxN effects). Our results reveal the context dependence of thermal plasticity, with the slope of thermal reaction norms varying across genotypes and across nutritional environments. We discuss these results in light of the ecological significance of pigmentation and the value of considering thermal plasticity in studies of the biological impact of climate change.

show abstract

Insect Developmental Plasticity: The Role in a Changing Environment

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

Epigenetic Diversity Underlying Seasonal and Annual Variations in Brown Planthopper (BPH) Populations as Revealed by Methylationsensitive Restriction Assay

Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

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