Collaborative Research: RUI: From Molecules to Mating: An Integrative Approach to Understanding Chemical Signal Evolution in Fireflies

合作研究：RUI：从分子到交配：理解萤火虫化学信号进化的综合方法

• 批准号: 2035286
• 负责人: Sarah Lower
• 金额: $ 64.25万
• 依托单位: Bucknell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-03-01 至 2026-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2035286&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RUI; Molecules; Mating

Communication among individual animals is essential for survival and reproduction. Across animals, communication signals are incredibly diverse and employ a variety of senses, ranging from vision to smell. This project seeks to determine how and why signals differ among species in the charismatic insect group, the fireflies. While the public is most familiar with their flashing signals on warm summer nights, used to find and locate mates, a number of firefly species have lost the ability to produce light as adults. Unlike their lighted counterparts, these “unlighted” adult fireflies are day-active, and studies suggest that they use smell to detect the chemical signals (pheromones) of potential mates. By comparing North American firefly species that use light versus pheromone signals, there is the potential to identify common patterns in the chemical, genetic, and behavioral changes associated with switching signal modes. The resources produced during this project will dramatically expand genomic tools for fireflies, enabling substantial advances in evolutionary, natural products, and conservation studies. The pheromones identified can open up new possibilities for surveillance of threatened unlighted firefly populations that are otherwise relatively difficult to census. Fireflies also offer an ideal opportunity for public outreach, as they are charismatic insects that draw public interest. Development of educational modules in insect biology and conservation during the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival and interdisciplinary community programming on fireflies in art and culture will bring the science and impact of insects to the public.In nature, mating signals are diverse and even closely-related species can employ strikingly different signaling strategies. To understand what generates this diversity, we must understand the fundamental mechanisms and evolutionary processes that govern signal mode change across taxa. Fireflies, in the beetle family Lampyridae, are renowned for their nocturnal light signals that function primarily in mate recognition and choice. While the larvae of all firefly species emit light, only some species emit light as adults. These “unlighted” adult fireflies are diurnal and likely use long- and short-distance pheromones to find mates. In North American taxa, the loss of lighted communication and secondary gain of chemical signals appears to have occurred independently several times. These natural replicates facilitate the exploration of the molecular and behavioral changes that accompany an evolutionary switch in primary mating signal mode. (i) Characterization of volatile and cuticular signaling compounds from pairs of closely related species with contrasting signal modes will test whether chemical repertoires diversify in unlighted taxa. (ii) Next generation sequencing will enable examinations of whether chemical repertoire diversification is accompanied by corresponding diversification of chemosensory receptors, and identify convergent pathways for signal mode switching among firefly clades. (iii) Functional characterization studies will directly link chemosensory receptor genes to specific mating pheromone components. Investigating evolutionary signal mode switches in an organismal system with extreme differences in unimodal signals offers a unique opportunity to develop patterns and predictions that advance the study of more complex multimodal signals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

动物个体之间的交流对于生存和繁殖是必不可少的。在所有动物中，交流信号的多样性令人难以置信，并使用从视觉到嗅觉的各种感官。这个项目试图确定在有魅力的昆虫群体--萤火虫中，不同物种之间的信号差异是如何以及为什么不同。虽然公众最熟悉的是它们在温暖的夏夜发出的闪光信号，用于寻找和定位配偶，但一些萤火虫物种已经失去了成年后发光的能力。与带灯的同类不同，这些“未带灯”的成年萤火虫是白天活动的，研究表明，它们利用气味来检测潜在配偶的化学信号(信息素)。通过比较使用光和信息素信号的北美萤火虫物种，有可能确定与信号模式切换相关的化学、遗传和行为变化的常见模式。在这个项目中产生的资源将极大地扩展萤火虫的基因组工具，使进化、天然产品和保护研究取得实质性进展。识别出的信息素可以为监测受威胁的未点亮的萤火虫种群开辟新的可能性，否则相对难以进行普查。萤火虫也为公众提供了一个理想的宣传机会，因为它们是具有魅力的昆虫，吸引了公众的兴趣。在宾夕法尼亚州萤火虫节期间，开发昆虫生物学和保护方面的教育模块，以及艺术和文化中关于萤火虫的跨学科社区规划，将把昆虫的科学和影响带给公众。在自然界，交配信号是多样化的，即使是密切相关的物种也可以采用截然不同的信号策略。为了了解是什么导致了这种多样性，我们必须了解支配不同类群之间信号模式变化的基本机制和进化过程。萤火虫属于甲虫科，以其夜间的光信号而闻名，这些光信号主要作用于配偶识别和选择。虽然所有种类的萤火虫的幼虫都会发光，但只有某些种类的幼虫在成虫时会发光。这些未被点亮的成年萤火虫是白天活动的，很可能使用长距离和短距离的信息素来寻找配偶。在北美分类群中，光通信的丧失和化学信号的二次获得似乎独立地发生了几次。这些自然复制有助于探索伴随着初级交配信号模式的进化切换的分子和行为变化。(I)对具有不同信号模式的密切相关物种对挥发性和角质层信号化合物的表征将测试化学谱系是否在未被点亮的分类群中多样化。(Ii)下一代测序将能够检查化学谱系多样化是否伴随着化学感觉受体的相应多样化，并确定萤火虫分支之间信号模式切换的汇聚路径。(Iii)功能特性研究将直接将化学感觉受体基因与特定的交配信息素成分联系起来。研究生物系统中的进化信号模式开关与单峰信号的极端差异提供了一个独特的机会来开发模式和预测，以推进对更复杂的多模式信号的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。