Evolution of Heliothis Moth Sexual Communication Systems

大多数夜飞蛾物种通过产生并对两种或两种以上称为信息素的气味化学物质的非常精确的混合物做出反应来寻找配偶。具有非典型混合信息素的雌性对雄性的吸引力低于具有常见混合信息素的雌性。同样，对非典型杂交有反应的罕见雄性在寻找配偶时处于不利地位。进化的力量似乎在选择对抗信息素通讯系统的任何变化。如果进化的力量确实是选择反对变化，那么我们就剩下了一个问题：进化是如何导致目前存在的数千种具有独特信息素的飞蛾的。该研究通过确定控制信息素产生/反应的遗传基础来解决这个问题，并使用遗传杂交产生非典型雌性和雄性，以确定控制这些性状的基因的所有改变是否都被选择了。生物体有许多现有的特征，比如飞蛾的信息素，需要许多基因的共同作用才能正常发挥作用，从表面上看，似乎进化的力量不会有利于它们的发展。有必要对这些特征中的一些进行遗传解剖，以实验方式研究进化如何作用于这些特征的单个组成部分。飞蛾系统将作为这种分析的模型。研究的飞蛾是农作物害虫，因此从这些研究中获得的知识将有助于设计更好的交配中断工具来控制这些害虫。

Most night-flying moth species locate mates through production of, and response to, a very exact blend of two or more odorous chemicals called pheromones. Females with atypical blends of the pheromones have been shown to be less attractive to males than females with the species common blend. Similarly, rare males that respond to atypical blends have been found to be at a disadvantage in finding mates. Evolutionary forces appear to be selecting against any change in the pheromone communication system. If evolutionary forces are indeed selecting against change then we are left with the question of how evolution could have resulted in the current existence of thousands of species of moths that have unique pheromones. The proposed research addresses this question by determining the genetic basis for control of pheromone production/response and uses genetic crosses to produce atypical females and males to determine if all alterations in the genes controlling these traits are selected against.There are many existing traits of organisms, like the moth pheromones, that require the combined action of a number of genes to function properly, and on the surface it appears as if evolutionary forces would not have favored their development. There is a need to genetically dissect some of these traits to experimentally examine how evolution may have acted on single components of these traits. The moth system will serve as a model for such an analysis. The moths studied are crop pests, so the knowledge gained from these studies will help in designing better mating disruption tools that control these pests.