639 research outputs found
Genetic and Environmental Sources of Variation in the Autogenous Chemical Defense of a Leaf Beetle
Chemical defense plays a central role for many herbivorous insects in their interactions with predators and host plants. The leaf beetle genus Oreina (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) includes species able to both sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids and autogenously produce cardenolides. Sequestered compounds are clearly related to patterns of host-plant use, but variation in de novo synthesized cardenolides is less obviously linked to the environment. In this study, intraspecific variation in cardenolide composition was examined by HPLC-MS analysis in 18 populations of Oreina speciosa spanning Europe from the Massif Central to the Balkans. This revealed the defense secretion to be a complex blend of up to 42 compounds per population. There was considerable geographical variation in the total sample of 50 compounds detected, with only 14 found in all sites. The environmental and genetic influences on defense chemistry were investigated by correlation with distance matrices based on habitat factors, host-plant use, and genetics (sequence data from COI, COII, and 16s rRNA). This demonstrated an influence of both genetics and host-plant use on the overall blend of cardenolides and on the presence of some of the individual compounds. The implications of this result are discussed for the evolution of defense chemistry and for the use of cardenolide compounds as markers of the evolutionary history of the specie
Ecological and genetic factors influencing the transition between host-use strategies in sympatric Heliconius butterflies
Shifts in host-plant use by phytophagous insects have played a central role in their diversification. Evolving host-use strategies will reflect a trade-off between selection pressures. The ecological niche of herbivorous insects is partitioned along several dimensions, and if populations remain in contact, recombination will break down associations between relevant loci. As such, genetic architecture can profoundly affect the coordinated divergence of traits and subsequently the ability to exploit novel habitats. The closely related species Heliconius cydno and H. melpomene differ in mimetic colour pattern, habitat and host-plant use. We investigate the selection pressures and genetic basis underlying host-use differences in these two species. Host-plant surveys reveal that H. melpomene specializes on a single species of Passiflora. This is also true for the majority of other Heliconius species in secondary growth forest at our study site, as expected under a model of interspecific competition. In contrast, H. cydno, which uses closed-forest habitats where both Heliconius and Passiflora are less common, appears not to be restricted by competition and uses a broad selection of the available Passiflora. However, other selection pressures are likely involved, and field experiments reveal that early larval survival of both butterfly species is highest on Passiflora menispermifolia, but most markedly so for H. melpomene, the specialist on that host. Finally, we demonstrate an association between host-plant acceptance and colour pattern amongst interspecific hybrids, suggesting that major loci underlying these important ecological traits are physically linked in the genome. Together, our results reveal ecological and genetic associations between shifts in habitat, host use and mimetic colour pattern that have likely facilitated both speciation and coexistence
Measurement of the quasi-elastic axial vector mass in neutrino-oxygen interactions
The weak nucleon axial-vector form factor for quasi-elastic interactions is
determined using neutrino interaction data from the K2K Scintillating Fiber
detector in the neutrino beam at KEK. More than 12,000 events are analyzed, of
which half are charged-current quasi-elastic interactions nu-mu n to mu- p
occurring primarily in oxygen nuclei. We use a relativistic Fermi gas model for
oxygen and assume the form factor is approximately a dipole with one parameter,
the axial vector mass M_A, and fit to the shape of the distribution of the
square of the momentum transfer from the nucleon to the nucleus. Our best fit
result for M_A = 1.20 \pm 0.12 GeV. Furthermore, this analysis includes updated
vector form factors from recent electron scattering experiments and a
discussion of the effects of the nucleon momentum on the shape of the fitted
distributions.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 6 table
Search for the W-exchange decays B0 --> Ds(*)- Ds(*)+
We report a search for the decays , , in a sample of 232
million decays to \BBb ~pairs collected with the \babar detector
at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy storage ring. We find no significant
signal and set upper bounds for the branching fractions: and at 90% confidence level.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRD-R
Measurement of the B+ --> p pbar K+ Branching Fraction and Study of the Decay Dynamics
With a sample of 232x10^6 Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar events collected with the
BaBar detector, we study the decay B+ --> p pbar K+ excluding charmonium decays
to ppbar. We measure a branching fraction Br(B+ --> p pbar
K+)=(6.7+/-0.5+/-0.4)x10^{-6}. An enhancement at low ppbar mass is observed and
the Dalitz plot asymmetry suggests dominance of the penguin amplitude in this B
decay. We search for a pentaquark candidate Theta*++ decaying into pK+ in the
mass range 1.43 to 2.00 GeV/c2 and set limits on Br(B+ -->
Theta*++pbar)xBr(Theta*++ --> pK+) at the 10^{-7} level.Comment: 8 pages, 7 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi
We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context
of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since
they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson.
Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected
with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we
set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B-
--> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results
are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Phenotypic and Genetic Divergence among Poison Frog Populations in a Mimetic Radiation
The evolution of Müllerian mimicry is, paradoxically, associated with high levels of diversity in color and pattern. In a mimetic radiation, different populations of a species evolve to resemble different models, which can lead to speciation. Yet there are circumstances under which initial selection for divergence under mimicry may be reversed. Here we provide evidence for the evolution of extensive phenotypic divergence in a mimetic radiation in Ranitomeya imitator, the mimic poison frog, in Peru. Analyses of color hue (spectral reflectance) and pattern reveal substantial divergence between morphs. However, we also report that there is a “transition-zone� with mixed phenotypes. Analyses of genetic structure using microsatellite variation reveals some differentiation between populations, but this does not strictly correspond to color pattern divergence. Analyses of gene flow between populations suggest that, while historical levels of gene flow were low, recent levels are high in some cases, including substantial gene flow between some color pattern morphs. We discuss possible explanations for these observations
Adaptive Introgression across Species Boundaries in Heliconius Butterflies
It is widely documented that hybridisation occurs between many closely related species, but the importance of introgression in adaptive evolution remains unclear, especially in animals. Here, we have examined the role of introgressive hybridisation in transferring adaptations between mimetic Heliconius butterflies, taking advantage of the recent identification of a gene regulating red wing patterns in this genus. By sequencing regions both linked and unlinked to the red colour locus, we found a region that displays an almost perfect genotype by phenotype association across four species, H. melpomene, H. cydno, H. timareta, and H. heurippa. This particular segment is located 70 kb downstream of the red colour specification gene optix, and coalescent analysis indicates repeated introgression of adaptive alleles from H. melpomene into the H. cydno species clade. Our analytical methods complement recent genome scale data for the same region and suggest adaptive introgression has a crucial role in generating adaptive wing colour diversity in this group of butterflies
An Indirect Cue of Predation Risk Counteracts Female Preference for Conspecifics in a Naturally Hybridizing Fish Xiphophorus birchmanni
Mate choice is context dependent, but the importance of current context to interspecific mating and hybridization is largely unexplored. An important influence on mate choice is predation risk. We investigated how variation in an indirect cue of predation risk, distance to shelter, influences mate choice in the swordtail Xiphophorus birchmanni, a species which sometimes hybridizes with X. malinche in the wild. We conducted mate choice experiments to determine whether females attend to the distance to shelter and whether this cue of predation risk can counteract female preference for conspecifics. Females were sensitive to shelter distance independent of male presence. When conspecific and heterospecific X. malinche males were in equally risky habitats (i.e., equally distant from shelter), females associated primarily with conspecifics, suggesting an innate preference for conspecifics. However, when heterospecific males were in less risky habitat (i.e., closer to shelter) than conspecific males, females no longer exhibited a preference, suggesting that females calibrate their mate choices in response to predation risk. Our findings illustrate the potential for hybridization to arise, not necessarily through reproductive “mistakes”, but as one of many potential outcomes of a context-dependent mate choice strategy
Hybrid speciation in Heliconius butterflies? A review and critique of the evidence
The evidence supporting the recent hypothesis of a homoploid hybrid origin for the butterfly species Heliconius heurippa is evaluated. Data from selective breeding experiments, mate-choice studies, and a wide variety of DNA markers are reviewed, and an alternative hypothesis for the origin of the species and its close relatives is proposed. A scenario of occasional red wing-pattern mutations in peripheral populations of Heliconius cydno with subsequent adaptive convergence towards sympatric mimicry rings involving H. melpomene and H. erato is offered as an alternative to the HHS hypothesis. Recent twists of this tale are addressed in a postscript
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