Host plant toxicity affects developmental rates in a polyphagous fruit fly: experimental evidence

Abstract

Various, non-exclusive mechanisms have been invoked to explain the observed association between host plant use and speciation in insect species. In the Afrotropical genus Ceratitis (Diptera: Tephritidae), morphological, molecular, and biochemical data suggest that evolutionary radiation of stenophagous clades originates from their ability to exploit toxic hosts. To test whether, and to what extent, the development and fitness of Ceratitis fasciventris, a polyphagous congener known to infest over 43 host species, is adversely affected by host plant toxicity, we compared the rates of development, survival, and reproduction of captive bred individuals in four media that differ in alkaloid concentration. Despite reduced pupal and adult sizes, C. fasciventris larvae developing under low alkaloid concentrations successfully developed to the adult stage, probably as a result of accelerated pupation and ensuing restricted exposure to the toxic environment. High alkaloid concentrations, however, impaired their developmental process and prevented subsequent reproduction. The adverse effects of host plant toxicity on larval development in polyphagous fruit flies indicate that high alkaloid concentrations pose a significant constraint on host use by polyphagous Ceratitis species.

Do mothers really know best? Complexities in testing the preference-performance hypothesis in polyphagous frugivorous fruit flies

“…Two contrasting patterns emerge from our studies. On the one hand, and in contrast to recent studies, variability of host nutrients on which larvae feed did not influence adult size or adult emergence (Clarke, 2016;Wetzel et al, 2016), and offspring performance was likely influenced by secondary metabolites or other fruit traits (Greany et al, 1983;Erbout et al, 2009;Aluja et al, 2014a;Guillen et al, 2017). Alkaloids such as capsaicin in 'Manzano' pepper did not seem to limit A. ludens larval development.…”

Effect of host fruit, temperature and Wolbachia infection on survival and development of Ceratitis capitata immature stages

“…This is strongly supported by previous studies indicating that laboratory adapted populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly perform better in artificial rearing medium (% of egg hatch, larval and pupal survival) than wild populations [78]. The Mediterranean fruit fly exhibits an impressive ability to conclude development in a long list of hosts including fruit species containing secondary metabolites that are detrimental in other insect species [79]. Medfly larvae can also successfully develop in fruit species that are considered nutritionally poor such as cotton bolls [80].…”

Host plant range of a fruit fly community (Diptera: Tephritidae): does fruit composition influence larval performance?

“…Plant secondary metabolites are commonly thought to directly or indirectly deter the fecundity or the oviposition of phytophagous insects by being toxic or by reducing nutrient assimilation [ 25 ]. Erbout et al [ 80 ] found that larvae of the polyphagous tephritid C. fasciventris did not survive in fruits containing high alkaloid concentrations. Among insect herbivores, oligophagous species are less affected than polyphagous species by defensive chemicals in the tissues that they typically consume [ 81 ].…”