Self-Referencing as a Universal Mechanism Promoting Polyandry in Insects

主要研究者：Scott Kitchener Sakaluk提案编号：IOS-0718140项目名称：自我参照作为昆虫中促进一妻多夫制的通用机制雌性动物经常与许多不同的雄性交配，这种行为长期困扰着进化生物学家。 然而，最近的研究表明，通过与一个以上的男性交配，女性获得了良好的基因，提高了后代的健康和生存。 在这种情况下，人们可能会认为雌性更喜欢新的交配伴侣，而不是以前的配偶，事实上，对几个无关物种的研究表明，雌性对新的雄性有明显的偏好。 但是雌性如何区分新的雄性和以前的交配伙伴呢？ 早期对蟋蟀的研究表明，雌性蟋蟀在交配时用自己的气味标记雄性蟋蟀。 当一只雌性后来遇到一个以前的交配伙伴时，她只需要比较一下自己和雄性的气味。 如果她发现雄性已经被注入了她自己的化学特征，她可以避免与该雄性交配，而选择一个新的交配伙伴。 这种简单的自我参照形式可能是一种广泛存在的机制，不同动物物种的雌性通过这种机制最大限度地提高了交配伴侣的多样性。拟议的研究重点是表皮碳氢化合物（CHCs）作为化学感觉自我参照的基础。 CHC是昆虫表皮表面丰富的脂肪分子;它们通常在昆虫通讯中起着不可或缺的作用。 将操纵雌性的CHC概况，以观察雌性对先前配偶的厌恶是否可以通过实验消除。 雌性对化学线索的依赖，以确定以前的配偶将通过化学禁用板球接触化学感受器检查。 行为测试将被用来确定多久自我指化学感觉线索持续，以及在何种程度上，他们被掩盖时，男性充满了其他女性的气味。 这些研究不仅将有助于建立昆虫配偶识别的潜在普遍机制，还可能导致识别抑制雌性交配行为的化合物，提供相对安全但有效的害虫生物控制手段。 拟议的研究将为一名博士后研究员和几名本科生和研究生提供培训，并将有助于解决目前科学界妇女代表性不足的问题。研究生和PI将继续参与正在进行的旨在加强小学教师科学培训和指导女高中生的方案。

Principal Investigator: Scott Kitchener SakalukProposal Number: IOS-0718140Project Title: Self-Referencing as a Universal Mechanism Promoting Polyandry inInsectsFemale animals often mate with many different males, and this behavior has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. However, recent studies have revealed that by mating with more than one male, females secure good genes that enhance the health and survival of their offspring. That being the case, one might expect females to favor novel mating partners over previous mates, and indeed studies of several unrelated species have shown a clear female preference for novel males. But how do females distinguish between novel males and previous mating partners? Earlier work with crickets suggests that females do so by tagging males with their own odors during mating. When a female encounters a former mating partner later on, she need only compare her own scent with that of the male. If she finds that the male has been imbued with her own chemical signature, she can avoid mating with that male in favor of a novel mating partner. This simple form of self referencing could be a widespread mechanism by which females of diverse animal species maximize the diversity of their mating partners. The proposed research focuses on cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as the basis of chemosensory self-referencing. CHCs are fat molecules abundant on the surface of the insect cuticle; they often play an integral role in insect communication. CHC profiles of females will be manipulated to see if females'' aversion to previous mates can be experimentally abolished. The reliance of females on chemical cues to identify previous mates will be examined by chemically disabling cricket contact chemoreceptors. Behavioral tests will be employed to determine how long self-referent chemosensory cues persist, and to what extent they are masked when males are imbued with odors of other females. Not only will these studies help establish a potentially universal mechanism of mate recognition in insects, they could also potentially lead to the identification of chemical compounds that inhibit female mating behavior, furnishing a relatively safe, but effective means of biological control of insect pest species. The proposed research will provide training to a postdoctoral fellow and several undergraduate and graduate students, and will help redress the current under-representation of women in science. Graduate students and the PIs will continue their participation in ongoing programs designed to enhance elementary school teachers'''' training in science and to mentor female high school students.