Evolution of Mating Communication in Moths: Role of Male Courtship Pheromones

该项目的总体目标是通过将生物化学-遗传-行为层面的机制研究与该领域的实验和观察研究以及解决进化问题的研究结合起来，了解动物中雄性-雌性的交流。该项目将阐明用于蛾类交配交流的信号分子和混合物（信息素）的化学结构，量化这些化学物质引发的行为，揭示信息素产生和接受的机制，并确定所有这些过程背后的基因。该项目将有助于更好地了解雌性信息素混合的进化，以及种群间和密切相关物种间雄性和雌性的反应概况。由于许多飞蛾是农作物、森林和储粮中的重要害虫，本研究通过发现基于生态的害虫防治新工具，对社会具有实际意义。该项目将在多学科环境中培养一名博士后研究员和一名研究生，包括行为、化学生态学、神经科学和遗传学的定量分析。该项目的一个独特之处在于与荷兰阿姆斯特丹大学和德国马克斯普朗克化学生态学研究所的合作，这将在国际合作环境中为博士后研究员和研究生提供进化、化学和分子生物学方面的独特培训。该项目将从北卡罗来纳州立大学和附近的传统黑人大学招募和培训代表性不足的本科生。它将制定拓展计划，包括在生物多样性、动物行为和进化生物学方面的动手互动练习和讨论。最后，该项目的学员将参加公共教育和参与活动，包括BugFest（美国最大的STEM教育项目，每年约有35,000人参加），Science caf<s:1>, Science of Attraction（2014年有300人参加）等公共教育项目。动物性交流的三个主要问题激发了这个项目：1)雄性近距离性信号的哪些特征影响了雌性的选择；2)雄性复杂信号的成分向雌性传递了什么信息？3)男性性信号的产生是否与女性信号的产生有生物化学和遗传上的联系。这些问题的答案不仅对理解相互信号和配偶选择在动物性交流系统进化中的作用至关重要，而且还将有助于更好地理解交配偏好的进化如何导致种群间的生殖隔离，并最终导致新物种的起源。研究人员在很大程度上忽略了雄性飞蛾的近距离求爱行为，包括近距离性信息素的释放、雌性对雄性信息素的评估、偏好以及最终接受或拒绝雄性。该项目是基于最近在雄性信息素腺中发现的新化合物，其中一些与雌性产生的信息素具有生物合成起源，而其他化合物在化学上无关，可能从幼虫和成虫的食物中分离出来。这种双重化学可以为雌性提供对雄性能力的双重评估：(a)从头合成与她相似的信息素化合物，(b)获取必需的营养，并在防御良好的植物上生长。本项目将昆虫的交配选择与昆虫与植物的相互作用策略结合起来，研究昆虫中新的雄性化合物作为一类新的性信号分子。

The overall goal of this project is to understand male-female communication in animals by integrating mechanistic research at the biochemical-genetic-behavioral levels with experimental and observational research in the field, and with research that addresses evolutionary questions. This project will elucidate the chemical structures of signal molecules and blends (pheromones) used in moth mating communication, quantify behaviors elicited by these chemicals, uncover mechanisms of pheromone production and reception, and identify genes that underlie all these processes. This project will lead to a better understanding of the evolution of pheromone blends in females and response profiles in males and females among populations and across closely related species. Because many moth species are important pests in agricultural crops, forests and stored grains, this research has practical significance for society through the discovery of new tools for ecologically based pest control. This project will train a postdoctoral researcher and a graduate student in a multidisciplinary environment that includes quantitative analysis of behavior, chemical ecology, neuroscience and genetics. A unique feature of this project is the collaboration with the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology in Germany, which will offer the postdoctoral researcher and graduate student unique training in evolutionary, chemical, and molecular biology in a collaborative international setting. The project will recruit and train undergraduates from underrepresented demographics from North Carolina State University and nearby Historically Black Universities. It will develop outreach programs, including hands-on interactive exercises and discussions in biodiversity, animal behavior and evolutionary biology. Finally, trainees in this project will participate in public education and engagement events, including BugFest (the largest STEM education program in the US with ~35,000 participants annually), Science Cafés, the Science of Attraction (300 participants in 2014), and other public education programs.Three major questions in animal sexual communication motivate this project: 1) What features of close-range male sexual signals affect female choice; 2) What information do components of the male's complex signal convey to the female; and 3) Is the production of male sexual signals biochemically and genetically linked to production of female signals. Answers to these questions are critical not only for understanding the roles of reciprocal signaling and mate choice in the evolution of sexual communication systems in animals, but will also lead to a better understanding of how the evolution of mating preferences can lead to reproductive isolation among populations, and ultimately to the origin of new species. Researchers have largely ignored close-range courtship behavior by male moths, including the release of close-range sex pheromones, female assessment of the male pheromone, preference, and ultimately acceptance or rejection of the male. This project is based on the recent discovery of novel compounds in the male pheromone gland, some of which share biosynthetic origins with female-produced pheromones, while others are chemically unrelated and may be sequestered from larval and adult food. This dual chemistry can provide females with a dual assessment of the male's ability to (a) de novo biosynthesize pheromone compounds similar to hers, and (b) acquire essential nutrients, and grow on a well-defended plant. This project integrates insect mate choice with insect-plant interaction strategies and investigates the new male compounds as a novel class of sexual signaling molecules in insects.