Host use evolves and affects taxonomic diversification differently across plant-feeding insects

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nate Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Host Use ◽  
Plant Feeding

scholarly journals Micro- and macroevolutionary trade-offs in plant-feeding insects

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Peterson ◽  
Nate B. Hardy ◽  
Benjamin B. Normark
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Host Use ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Plant Feeding ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Network Patterns

AbstractA long-standing hypothesis asserts that plant-feeding insects specialize on particular host plants because of negative interactions (trade-offs) between adaptations to alternative hosts, yet empirical evidence for such trade-offs is scarce. Most studies have looked for microevolutionary performance trade-offs within insect species, but host-use could also be constrained by macroevolutionary trade-offs caused by epistasis and historical contingency. On the other hand, evolutionary interactions between adaptations to diverse hosts could be neutral or positive rather than negative. Here we used a phylogenetic approach to estimate the micro-and macroevolutionary correlations between use of alternative host plants within two major orders of plant-feeding insects: Lepidoptera (caterpillars) and Hemiptera (true bugs). Across 1604 caterpillar species, we found both positive and negative pairwise correlations between use of diverse host taxa, with overall network patterns suggesting that different host-use constraints act over micro-and macroevolutionary timescales. In contrast, host-use patterns of 955 true bug species revealed uniformly positive correlations between presence on the same host taxa over both timescales. The lack of consistent patterns across timescales and insect orders indicates that host-use trade-offs are historically contingent rather than universal constraints. Moreover, we observed few negative correlations overall despite the wide taxonomic and ecological diversity of the focal host taxa, suggesting that positive interactions between host-use adaptations, not trade-offs, dominate the long-term evolution of host use in plant-feeding insects.

Effects of rhizobacteria on the biology and behavior of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Robson Thomaz Thuler ◽  
Fernando Henrique Iost Filho ◽  
Hamilton César De Oliveira Charlo ◽  
Sergio Antônio De Bortoli
Keyword(s):  
Plutella Xylostella ◽  
Diamondback Moth ◽  
Insect Behavior ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Pupal Weight ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Plant Feeding ◽  
Kluyvera Ascorbata ◽  
And Behavior

Plant induced resistance is a tool for integrated pest management, aimed at increasing plant defense against stress, which is compatible with other techniques. Rhizobacteria act in the plant through metabolic changes and may have direct effects on plant-feeding insects. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of cabbage plants inoculated with rhizobacteria on the biology and behavior of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Cabbage seeds inoculated with 12 rhizobacteria strains were sowed in polystyrene trays and later transplanted into the greenhouse. The cabbage plants with sufficient size to support stress were then infested with diamondback moth caterpillars. Later, healthy leaves suffering injuries were collected and taken to the laboratory to feed P. xylostella second instar caterpillars that were evaluated for larval and pupal viability and duration, pupal weight, and sex ratio. The reduction of leaf area was then calculated as a measure of the amount of larval feeding. Non-preference for feeding and oviposition assays were also performed, by comparing the control treatment and plants inoculated with different rhizobacterial strains. Plants inoculated with the strains EN4 of Kluyvera ascorbata and HPF14 of Bacillus thuringiensis negatively affected the biological characteristics of P. xylostella when such traits were evaluated together, without directly affecting the insect behavior.

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