Doctoral Dissertation Research: Phenotypic and Genetic Benefits of Polyandry in an Arctiid Moth (Utetheisa Ornatrix)

一妻多夫制对北极蛾的表型和遗传益处既然一个雄性可以提供足够的精子使雌性的全部卵子受精，为什么雌性要有多个伴侣呢？一个明显的可能性是，它们因此能够避免近亲繁殖的陷阱。昆虫是否真的会优先选择基因组成完全不同的雄性，这意味着它们能够比较不同的精子，这个问题可以通过确定昆虫在自然种群中的近亲繁殖程度来回答。Utetheisa ornatrix提供了研究这些未知事物的机会。雌性蛾子在出生后的2-3周内可以有多达23个伴侣。交配发生率可以通过计数雌性交配室中的精子囊残留物来确定，种群中个体的亲缘程度可以通过微卫星分析来评估。在对昆虫的研究中，亲缘程度通常被忽略。在Utetheisa中，对遗传亲缘关系的确定可以揭示塑造Utetheisa繁殖行为的决定性选择过程，并为对其他昆虫的类似调查奠定基础。

Phenotypic and genetic benefits of polyandry in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix) Thomas Eisner Female insects are frequently promiscuous. Given that a single male can provide sufficient sperm to fertilize a female's entire complement of eggs, why do females take multiple partners? An obvious possibility is that they are thereby able to avoid the pitfalls of inbreeding. Whether or not they actually give preference to males of disparate genetic makeup, implying that they are able to compare sets of sperm, is a question that can be answered by determining the degree of inbreeding of insects in natural populations. The moth Utetheisa ornatrix offers the opportunity to look into these unknowns. The female of the moth can take as many as 23 partners in her 2-3 weeks of existence. Mating incidence can be determined by counting the sperm sac remnants in the female's mating chamber, and degree of relatedness of the individuals in the population can be assessed by microsatellite analyses. Degree of relatedness is usually ignored in studies of insects. In Utetheisa the ascertainment of genetic affinities could cast light on the determinant selective processes that molded the reproductive behavior of Utetheisa, and could lay the groundwork for similar inquiries with other insects.