Behavioural and genetic analyses of Nasonia shed light on the evolution of sex pheromones
Behavioural and genetic analyses of Nasonia shed light on the evolution of sex pheromones
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DOI：
10.1038/nature11838
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发表时间：
2013-02-21
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Schmitt, Thomas
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Niehuis, Oliver;Buellesbach, Jan;Schmitt, Thomas
性信息素在许多有性生殖生物体的交流中发挥着关键作用(1)。因此，物种形成通常伴随着信息素多样化，从而实现适当的配偶寻找和识别(2)。目前的理论表明，化学信号受到接收者的稳定选择，从而保持信号的完整性(3)。目前人们对性信息素的巨大多样性是如何进化的知之甚少(4,5)。在这里，我们揭示了黄蜂中新进化的信息素表型的遗传学，并展示了行为实验的结果，表明新信息素成分的进化是如何在已建立的发送-接收系统中发生的。我们发现，雄性 Nasonia vitripennis 进化出了一种额外的信息素化合物，其与先前存在的信息素化合物仅在立体化学上有所不同。比较行为研究表明，同种雌性在进化时对新的信息素表型做出中性反应。遗传图谱和基因敲除表明，三个紧密相连的基因簇能够产生这种新的信息素表型。我们的数据表明，新的信息素化合物可以在发送者的群体中持续存在，而不会被接收者选择反对，并且接收者不会对新信息素表型有预先存在的偏好，而接收者最初不会被察觉。因此，我们的结果为性信息素多样化的进化机制提供了有价值的新见解：此外，它们表明新信息素化合物的遗传基础可以很简单，使它们能够在群体中持续足够长的时间，以便接受者能够进化出化学感应适应以利用它们。
Sex pheromones play a pivotal role in the communication of many sexually reproducing organisms(1). Accordingly, speciation is often accompanied by pheromone diversification enabling proper mate finding and recognition(2). Current theory implies that chemical signals are under stabilizing selection by the receivers who thereby maintain the integrity of the signals(3). How the tremendous diversity of sex pheromones seen today evolved is poorly understood(4,5). Here we unravel the genetics of a newly evolved pheromone phenotype in wasps and present results from behavioural experiments indicating how the evolution of a new pheromone component occurred in an established sender-receiver system. We show that male Nasonia vitripennis evolved an additional pheromone compound differing only in its stereochemistry from a pre-existing one. Comparative behavioural studies show that conspecific females responded neutrally to the new pheromone phenotype when it evolved. Genetic mapping and gene knockdown show that a cluster of three closely linked genes accounts for the ability to produce this new pheromone phenotype. Our data suggest that new pheromone compounds can persist in a sender's population, without being selected against by the receiver and without the receiver having a pre-existing preference for the new pheromone phenotype, by initially remaining unperceived. Out results thus contribute valuable new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the diversification of sex pheromones: Furthermore, they indicate that the genetic basis of new pheromone compounds can be simple, allowing them to persist long enough in a population for receivers to evolve chemosensory adaptations for their exploitation.