Kin recognition and co‐operative foraging inDrosophila melanogasterlarvae

Abstract

A long‐standing goal for biologists and social scientists is to understand the factors that lead to the evolution and maintenance of co‐operative behaviour between conspecifics. To that end, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is becoming an increasingly popular model species to study sociality; however, most of the research to date has focused on adult behaviours. In this study, we set out to examine group‐feeding behaviour by larvae and to determine whether the degree of relatedness between individuals mediates the expression co‐operation. In a series of assays, we manipulated the average degree of relatedness in groups of third‐instar larvae that were faced with resource scarcity, and measured the size, frequency and composition of feeding clusters, as well as the fitness benefits associated with co‐operation. Our results suggest that larval D. melanogaster are capable of kin recognition (something that has not been previously described in this species), as clusters were more numerous, larger and involved more larvae, when more closely related kin were present in the social environment. These findings are discussed in the context of the correlated fitness‐associated benefits of co‐operation, the potential mechanisms by which individuals may recognize kin, and how that kinship may play an important role in facilitating the manifestation of this co‐operative behaviour.

Cooperative foraging during larval stage affects fitness inDrosophila

“…Here we further investigated the separate contribution of each of these factors in more detail. Preparation of vials with processed food followed by larval transplantations was adapted from previous studies (Dombrovski et al 2017, 2019). In our first experiment ( Fig.…”

“…To address these questions, we make use of a novel experimental model system featuring cooperative foraging behavior in larval Drosophila melanogaster. Interestingly, although behavioral and developmental aspects of larval solitary foraging behavior were addressed long time ago (Sokolowski 1982;Godoy-Herrera 1977Wu et al 2003;Kim et al 2017), mechanistic and neuroethological features of cooperative foraging in larval Drosophila have only recently been characterized (Durisko et al, 2014;Dombrovski et al 2017, 2019, Khodaei and Long, 2019. Feeding clusters form in semi-liquid food, comprise of 10-200 animals and share a unique set of characteristics that make it an attractive model for studying collective social behavior.…”

Genetic basis of offspring number and body weight variation inDrosophila melanogaster

“…Mutant lines for validation of candidate genes were obtained from the Exelixis collection 24 for six genes containing variants associated with the offspring index at a p < 1E-5 threshold. The mutant lines were as follows: PBac{PB}hid c01591 , PBac{WH} Sox21b f06429 , PBac{WH}Rbp f07217 , PBac{RB}CG8312 e01204 , PBac{WH}CG8312 f02825 , PBac{WH}mub f02647 , PBac{WH}Ih -f01485 , and PBac{RB}Ih e01599 (#17970 BDSC).…”

“…On the other end of the spectrum, flies producing fewer eggs may have large offspring capable of weathering stress 21,22 , but fewer offspring result in a decreased competitive ability with more fecund individuals. Moreover, larvae need a critical number to engage in cooperative food-burrowing 23 , with cooperative food-burrowing more likely to occur in conspecifics of high relatedness 24 . Taken together, these pressures mean that finite space and resource limitation likely impose a trade-off between the number of offspring and their body phenotypes.…”

On the expression of co-operative feeding behaviour in 3rd instar Drosophila melanogaster larvae!

“…form "feeding clusters" by synchronizing their digging movements to dig a 'well' 54 (sensu Louis This study was undertaken to better understand some of the factors that 59 may potentially influence the expression of this group feeding behaviour, as part 60 of a larger investigation of this social phenomenon (Khodaei & Long 2019). 61…”