Evolution of Inect Sexual Communication Systems

大多数夜飞蛾是通过雌性的分泌来寻找配偶的，而雄性则对空气中三种或三种以上的特定化学物质的精确混合做出反应。在一个物种中，产生非典型杂交的雌性不如其他雌性有吸引力。类似地，具有对改变的混合物作出反应的基因的罕见雄性预计比正常雄性更不适合繁殖。根据我们目前对飞蛾性交流的遗传学和机制的理解，进化预计会选择反对新的性交流系统的增殖。然而，目前有数千种飞蛾，每种都有独特的交流系统。我们的目标是杂交两种密切相关的蛾种不同的信息素和雄性反应。我们将绘制有性交流基因图谱，并开发在信息素产生或反应方面具有单一遗传差异的菌株，以确定它们的适应性在许多环境条件下是否以及在多大程度上下降。有许多复杂的性状，其多样化在早期进化阶段预计会受到阻碍。我们希望从我们对飞蛾的研究中获得的信息能够提供一般的见解，让我们了解那些被认为是保守的特征是如何多样化的。

Most night-flying moth locate mates through female production of, and male response to very precise blends of three or more species specific airborne chemicals. Within a species, females that produce atypical blends are not as attractive as other females. Similarly, rare males that have genes for response to an altered blend are expected to be less reproductively fit than normal males. Based on our current understanding of the genetics and mechanics of sexual communication in moths, evolution is expected to select against the proliferation of new sexual communication systems. However, there are currently thousands of moth species, each with a unique system of communication. Our goal is to hybridize two closely related moth species that differ in their pheromones and male responses. We will map sexual communication genes and develop strains with single genetic differences in pheromone production or response to determine if and to what extent their fitness is decreased in a number of environmental conditions.There are many complex traits for which diversification is expected to be hindered in early evolutionary stages. We expect the information from our work on moths to provide general insight into how traits that are expected to be conserved, can diversify.