Apportionment of nuptial alkaloidal gifts by a multiply-mated female moth (Utetheisa ornatrix): eggs individually receive alkaloid from more than one male source

Yong

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2004

Self Cite

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA), sequestered by the moth Utetheisa ornatrix from its larval food plant, is transmitted by both males and females to the eggs. Males confer PA on the female by seminal infusion, and females pass this gift, together with PA that they themselves procured as larvae, to the eggs. Here we show that PA protects the eggs against parasitization by the chalcidoid wasp, Trichogramma ostriniae. Eggs laid subsequent to a first mating of an Utetheisa female receive most of their PA from the female. The amount they receive from the male is insufficient to provide for full protection. However, female Utetheisa are promiscuous and therefore likely to receive PA on a cumulative basis from their male partners. chemical defense ͉ parasitism ͉ Arctiidae ͉ Trichogrammatidae

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Plant-derived pyrrolizidine alkaloid protects eggs of a moth (Utetheisa ornatrix) against a parasitoid wasp (Trichogramma ostriniae)

Yong

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

et al. 2004

Self Cite

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

“…The chemicals protect larvae and adults against spiders (4,5) and protect the eggs against ants (6), coccinellid beetles (7), chrysopid larvae (8), and parasitoid wasps (9). To provision the eggs, the female resorts not only to PA that she herself sequestered as a larva, but to supplementary PA that she receives from the male with the spermatophore at mating (7,10,11). Females are promiscuous, and as a result are kept infused with PA, even as they relinquish the toxins on an ongoing basis to the eggs (3,11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To provision the eggs, the female resorts not only to PA that she herself sequestered as a larva, but to supplementary PA that she receives from the male with the spermatophore at mating (7,10,11). Females are promiscuous, and as a result are kept infused with PA, even as they relinquish the toxins on an ongoing basis to the eggs (3,11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive benefits derived from defensive plant alkaloid possession in an arctiid moth ( Utetheisa ornatrix )

Campo

Smedley

Eisner

2005

The moth Utetheisa ornatrix (family Arctiidae) depends on pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) for defense. It sequesters the toxins as a larva from its food plants (Crotalaria species: family Fabaceae) and retains them through metamorphosis. We report here that PApossession in the adult female U. ornatrix has a life-shortening effect, suggesting that, by putting the compounds to use, the moth may be incurring a cost. However, PA-possession also induces the female to oviposit at an accelerated rate, so that she does not, by dying earlier, incur a loss in fecundity. We argue that by ''compressing'' their adult existence into a shorter period, female U. ornatrix may actually accrue benefits.adaptive tradeoff ͉ longevity ͉ ovipositional rate ͉ pyrrolizidine alkaloid

Intragroup and intragenomic conflict over chemical defense against predators

Best

Ruxton

Gardner

2018

Ecology and Evolution

Insects are often chemically defended against predators. There is considerable evidence for a group‐beneficial element to their defenses, and an associated potential for individuals to curtail their own investment in costly defense while benefitting from the investments of others, termed “automimicry.” Although females in chemically defended taxa often lay their eggs in clusters, leading to siblings living in close proximity, current models of automimicry have neglected kin‐selection effects, which may be expected to curb the evolution of such selfishness. Here, we develop a general theory of automimicry that explicitly incorporates kin selection. We investigate how female promiscuity modulates intragroup and intragenomic conflicts overinvestment into chemical defense, finding that individuals are favored to invest less than is optimal for their group, and that maternal‐origin genes favor greater investment than do paternal‐origin genes. We translate these conflicts into readily testable predictions concerning gene expression patterns and the phenotypic consequences of genomic perturbations, and discuss how our results may inform gene discovery in relation to economically important agricultural products.