Maternal age as a source of variation in the ability of an aphid to produce dispersing forms

MacKay, Patricia A.; Wellington, W. G.

doi:10.1007/bf02754093

Cited by 20 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Second, there may have been an e¡ect of aphid age in the response. Studies by MacKay & Wellington (1977) and suggest that, in the pea aphid, the production of winged o¡spring is in£uenced by aphid age. Third, the plants to which aphids were transferred later in the experiments might have been of a better Predator-induced wing production in the pea aphid W.W. Weisser and others 1179 quality than the plants to which aphids were transferred early in the experiment, even though they appeared to be very similar.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator-induced morphological shift in the pea aphid

Weisser

Braendle

Minoretti

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

208

182

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Aphids exhibit a polymorphism whereby individual aphids are either winged or unwinged. The winged dispersal morph is mainly responsible for the colonization of new plants and, in many species, is produced in response to adverse environmental conditions. Aphids are attacked by a wide range of specialized predators and predation has been shown to strongly in£uence the growth and persistence of aphid colonies. In two experiments, we reared two clones of pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) in the presence and absence of predatory ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata or Adalia bipunctata). In both experiments, the presence of a predator enhanced the proportion of winged morphs among the o¡spring produced by the aphids. The aphid clones di¡ered in their reaction to the presence of a ladybird, suggesting the presence of genetic variation for this trait. A treatment that simulated disturbance caused by predators did not enhance winged o¡spring production. The experiments indicate that aphids respond to the presence of a predator by producing the dispersal morph which can escape by £ight to colonize other plants. In contrast to previous examples of predator-induced defence this shift in prey morphology does not lead to better protection against predator attack, but enables aphids to leave plants when mortality risks are high.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator-induced morphological shift in the pea aphid

Weisser

Braendle

Minoretti

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

208

182

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“…Moreover, our experimental procedure selected offspring born by young mothers of similar age. As females of the pea aphid have been reported to produce more winged offspring at an early age (Mackay & Wellington 1977), this may have been one of the reasons for the observed production of winged offspring in the experimental progeny despite the absence of a direct experimental stimulus. In addition, our statistical analysis (see §2c(iii)) controls for differences in density and the number of winged mothers present.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Genetic variation for an aphid wing polyphenism is genetically linked to a naturally occurring wing polymorphism

et al. 2005

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Many polyphenisms are examples of adaptive phenotypic plasticity where a single genotype produces distinct phenotypes in response to environmental cues. Such alternative phenotypes occur as winged and wingless parthenogenetic females in the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum). However, the proportion of winged females produced in response to a given environmental cue varies between clonal genotypes. Winged and wingless phenotypes also occur in males of the sexual generation. In contrast to parthenogenetic females, wing production in males is environmentally insensitive and controlled by the sex-linked, biallelic locus, aphicarus (api ). Hence, environmental or genetic cues induce development of winged and wingless phenotypes at different stages of the pea aphid life cycle. We have tested whether allelic variation at the api locus explains genetic variation in the propensity to produce winged females. We assayed clones from an F 2 cross that were heterozygous or homozygous for alternative api alleles for their propensity to produce winged offspring. We found that clones with different api genotypes differed in their propensity to produce winged offspring. The results indicate genetic linkage of factors controlling the female wing polyphenism and male wing polymorphism. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that genotype by environment interaction at the api locus explains genetic variation in the environmentally cued wing polyphenism.

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“…In many species where wing determination occurs prenatally (in parthenogenetic embryos carried within adults), winged adults rarely or never produce winged offspring (Lees, 1961;Sutherland, 1970). Similarly, early born progeny descended from winged mothers exhibit a decreased production of winged morphs (Mackay and Wellington, 1977). In contrast, early born (wingless) progeny derived from wingless mothers respond strongly to wing-inducing stimuli (Mackay and Wellington, 1977;MacKay and Lamb, 1979).…”

Section: Maternal Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, early born progeny descended from winged mothers exhibit a decreased production of winged morphs (Mackay and Wellington, 1977). In contrast, early born (wingless) progeny derived from wingless mothers respond strongly to wing-inducing stimuli (Mackay and Wellington, 1977;MacKay and Lamb, 1979). Grand-maternal phenotype, maternal phenotype, and age therefore all affect and modulate the response to wing-inducing environmental conditions.…”

Section: Maternal Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wing dimorphism in aphids

et al. 2006

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Many species of insects display dispersing and nondispersing morphs. Among these, aphids are one of the best examples of taxa that have evolved specialized morphs for dispersal versus reproduction. The dispersing morphs typically possess a full set of wings as well as a sensory and reproductive physiology that is adapted to flight and reproducing in a new location. In contrast, the nondispersing morphs are wingless and show adaptations to maximize fecundity. In this review, we provide an overview of the major features of the aphid wing dimorphism. We first provide a description of the dimorphism and an overview of its phylogenetic distribution. We then review what is known about the mechanisms underlying the dimorphism and end by discussing its evolutionary aspects.

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Maternal age as a source of variation in the ability of an aphid to produce dispersing forms

Cited by 20 publications

References 34 publications

Predator-induced morphological shift in the pea aphid

Predator-induced morphological shift in the pea aphid

Genetic variation for an aphid wing polyphenism is genetically linked to a naturally occurring wing polymorphism

Wing dimorphism in aphids

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