Mate choice intensifies motor signalling in Drosophila

This work was funded by the Marie Curie Initial Training Network ‘Understanding the evolutionary origin of biological diversity’ (ITN-2008- 213780 SPECIATION; M.G.R.), and by a US National Science Foundation grant (R.R.S.) (DEB-0093149) and NERC grants (R.R.S. and M.G.R.; NE/B504065/1, NE/D003741/1, NE/I014632/1).Mate choice has the potential to act on the evolution of motor performance via its direct influence on motor sexual signals. However, studies demonstrating this are rare. Here, we performed an in-depth analysis of Drosophila pseudoobscura courtship song rate, a motor signal under mate choice in this species, and analysed the response of this signal to sexual selection manipulation using experimental evolution. We show that manipulating the opportunity for sexual selection led to changes in song production rate and singing endurance, with males from the polyandrous populations producing faster song rates over longer time periods than males from monogamous populations. We also show that song rate was correlated with estimates of overall courtship vigour. Our results suggest that the action of mate choice on a motor signal has affected male motor performance displayed during courtship. We consider potential selective benefits associated with changes in motor performance, including condition-dependent signalling, and discuss the implications of these results for the study of motor signals under sexual selection.PostprintPeer reviewe

Bi-allelic Loss-of-Function CACNA1B Mutations in Progressive Epilepsy-Dyskinesia.

The occurrence of non-epileptic hyperkinetic movements in the context of developmental epileptic encephalopathies is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. Identification of causative mutations provides an important insight into common pathogenic mechanisms that cause both seizures and abnormal motor control. We report bi-allelic loss-of-function CACNA1B variants in six children from three unrelated families whose affected members present with a complex and progressive neurological syndrome. All affected individuals presented with epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay (often with regression), and a hyperkinetic movement disorder. Additional neurological features included postnatal microcephaly and hypotonia. Five children died in childhood or adolescence (mean age of death: 9 years), mainly as a result of secondary respiratory complications. CACNA1B encodes the pore-forming subunit of the pre-synaptic neuronal voltage-gated calcium channel Cav2.2/N-type, crucial for SNARE-mediated neurotransmission, particularly in the early postnatal period. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in CACNA1B are predicted to cause disruption of Ca2+ influx, leading to impaired synaptic neurotransmission. The resultant effect on neuronal function is likely to be important in the development of involuntary movements and epilepsy. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the key role of Cav2.2 in normal human neurodevelopment.MAK is funded by an NIHR Research Professorship and receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity, and Rosetrees Trust. E.M. received funding from the Rosetrees Trust (CD-A53) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. K.G. received funding from Temple Street Foundation. A.M. is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and Biomedical Research Centre. F.L.R. and D.G. are funded by Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. K.C. and A.S.J. are funded by NIHR Bioresource for Rare Diseases. The DDD Study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund (grant number HICF-1009-003), a parallel funding partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (grant number WT098051). We acknowledge support from the UK Department of Health via the NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. This research was also supported by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. J.H.C. is in receipt of an NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The research team acknowledges the support of the NIHR through the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, Department of Health, or Wellcome Trust. E.R.M. acknowledges support from NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, an NIHR Senior Investigator Award, and the University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of E.R.M. from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. I.E.S. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Program Grant and Practitioner Fellowship)

Exploring the environmental dependence of sexual conflict using Drosophila

National audienceWithin a species, sex-specific selection among males and females can result in an evolutionary conflict between the sexes. Previous studies have shown the importance of sexual conflict in affecting male and female fitness, either under laboratory conditions or sometimes directly in the field. Laboratory conditions are likely to be an unrealistic representation of the complex conditions organisms would actually experience in the wild (e.g. static abiotic conditions, absence of predators and parasites, abundant resources, skewed social interactions, etc.), and these differences in selective pressures could radically change the patterns of sexual conflict found in the laboratory. To explore this question, we took Drosophila laboratory lines back to the field, to investigate the effects of sex-genotype-environment interactions on fitness. Using hemiclonal lines showing extreme sexual conflict under laboratory conditions, we compare sexual conflict signatures between laboratory and field conditions, with the use of outdoor microcosms. Fitness assays based on phenotypic markers show that patterns of sexual conflict change drastically between the two conditions experienced by males and females. We also present preliminary data showing sex-specific fitness estimates based on pooled sequencing. We discuss the implications of the differences observed for sex-specific fitness under semi-natural conditions, and thus of the environmental dependence of sexual conflict

Data from: Evolution of divergent female mating preference in response to experimental sexual selection

Sexual selection is predicted to drive the coevolution of mating signals and preferences (mating traits) within populations, and could play a role in speciation if sexual isolation arises due to mating trait divergence between populations. However, few studies have demonstrated that differences in mating traits between populations result from sexual selection alone. Experimental evolution is a promising approach to directly examine the action of sexual selection on mating trait divergence among populations. We manipulated the opportunity for sexual selection (low versus high) in populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Previous studies on these experimental populations have shown that sexual selection manipulation resulted in the divergence between sexual selection treatments of several courtship song parameters, including IPI (inter-pulse interval) which markedly influences male mating success. Here, we measure female preference for IPI using a playback design to test for preference divergence between the sexual selection treatments after 130 generations of experimental sexual selection. The results suggest that female preference has coevolved with male signal, in opposite directions between the sexual selection treatments, providing direct evidence of the ability of sexual selection to drive the divergent coevolution of mating traits between populations. We discuss the implications in the context sexual selection and speciation

Female_preference_dataset_Dryad

Data on female preference from artificial playback songs in experimentally sexually selected populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura

Sterile Insect Technique: Principles, Deployment and Prospects

International audienceThis chapter describes the main principles of the sterile insect technique (SIT), a pest control method that seeks to gradually reduce insect reproduction by releasing sterilized males in large numbers. We highlight the potential and limitations of the use of SIT and explore various future research avenues. SIT is generally one important component of an area-wide integrated pest management programme. The aim is no longer to protect individual crop fields but rather entire regions, which requires cooperation among many stakeholders. This larger focus also underscores the need for transdisciplinary cooperation among researchers in the biological sciences and humanities and social sciences as well as key stakeholders from the early stages of a programme, whether pilot or operational. We explore examples from France, which has seen the development of several pilot projects in agriculture and health in the recent years

Data assortative mating (all)

The table contains all the data used in the study. Each row corresponds to a mating trial. The dataset is described in details in the README.txt file

Biocontrôle et macro-organismes: panorama

International audienceContexte : Malgré des besoins toujours plus pressants de trouver des alternatives aux produits phytopharmaceutiques, force est de constater que le secteur des macro-organismes de biocontrôle peine à se généraliser dans la pratique et, avant tout, à s'imposer dans l'esprit des parties intéressées : les utilisateurs finaux (les agriculteurs), les conseillers techniques, mais également les politiques et les financeurs. Stratégies de lutte : La régulation des bioagresseurs peut se réaliser en favorisant les individus déjà présents dans ou aux alentours des parcelles cultivées : c'est ce que l'on appelle la lutte biologique par conservation. Elle peut également se faire en introduisant certains auxiliaires délibérément dans les parcelles cultivées (acclimatation, augmentation, lutte autocide). Cet article présente les stratégies de biocontrôle à l'aide de macro-organismes (essentiellement des insectes, acariens ou nématodes entomopathogènes), qu'elles soient pratiquées depuis longtemps en France, plus récemment implantées, voire encore prospectives