Life history traits of adults and embryos of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica

Harada, Eri; Lee, Richard; Denlinger, David L.; Goto, Shin G.

doi:10.1007/s00300-014-1511-0

Cited by 17 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…We do not suspect that death of adults was caused by handling, unnatural conditions or sickness, but rather was the consequence of the adult's short life span: males live 8 days on average, and females die within a day after oviposition, resulting in a generally shorter life span of 5 days (Harada et al, 2014). The field-collected adults were of unknown age at the time of collection, and a further 2-day period of laboratory acclimation restricted the number of adults that could be monitored for multiple days with the limited number of cameras available during the narrow time window when adults were present.…”

Section: Activity Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 98%

Continuous activity and no cycling of clock genes in the Antarctic midge during the polar summer

Kobelková

Goto

Peyton

et al. 2015

Journal of Insect Physiology

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The extreme seasonal shifts of day length in polar regions, ranging from constant light in the summer to constant darkness in the winter, pose an intriguing environment for probing activity rhythms and the functioning of circadian clocks. Here, we monitor locomotor activity during the summer on the Antarctic Peninsula and under laboratory conditions, as well as the accompanying patterns of clock gene expression in the Antarctic midge, the only insect endemic to Antarctica. Larvae and adults are most active during the warmest portion of the day, but at a constant temperature they remain continuously active regardless of the photoregime, and activity also persists in constant darkness. The canonical clock genes period, timeless, Clock, and vrille are expressed in the head but we detected no cycling of expression in either the field or under diverse photoregimes in the laboratory. The timekeeping function of the clock has possibly been lost, enabling the midge to opportunistically exploit the unpredictable availability of permissive thermal conditions for growth, development, and reproduction during the short summer in Antarctica.

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Section: Activity Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 98%

Continuous activity and no cycling of clock genes in the Antarctic midge during the polar summer

Kobelková

Goto

Peyton

et al. 2015

Journal of Insect Physiology

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“…Larvae are extremely tolerant of numerous stresses including cold, dehydration, and UV exposure [6][7][8][9][10] . Adult emergence is a fairly synchronous event occurring in early summer 5 , and there is some evidence for protandry 5,11 . The wingless adults mate in swarms formed on rocks and other features of the substrate 5,11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult emergence is a fairly synchronous event occurring in early summer 5 , and there is some evidence for protandry 5,11 . The wingless adults mate in swarms formed on rocks and other features of the substrate 5,11 . Environmental stressors in Antarctica can be severe and highly variable over short distances and time periods 12,13 , and swarming may play a role in locating and taking advantage of intermittent, favorable microhabitats 1,2,14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mating swarms present a potential obstacle for establishing long-lasting colonies in a laboratory setting, as mating is likely facilitated by large-scale, synchronous adult emergence 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult females that emerge in the laboratory lay, with a few exceptions, a single egg mass, each containing about 40 eggs 1,2,5,11 . Nevertheless, multiple matings are common, and multiple oviposition events have been reported 2,5,11 . Specific underlying materials transferred from the male to the female during copulation are unknown in B. antarctica.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-level analysis of reproduction in the Antarctic midge,Belgica antarctica, identifies female and male accessory gland products that are altered by larval stress and impact progeny viability

Finch

Perrieta

Davis

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background -The Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is a wingless, non-biting midge endemic to Antarctica. Larval development requires at least two years, but adult life lasts only two weeks. The nonfeeding adults mate in swarms and females die shortly after oviposition. Eggs are suspended in a gel of unknown composition that is expressed from the female accessory gland. This project characterizes molecular mechanisms underlying reproduction in this midge by examining differential gene expression in whole males, females, and larvae, as well as in male and female accessory glands. Functional studies were used to assess the role of the gel encasing the eggs, as well as the impact of stress on reproductive biology.Results -RNA-seq analyses revealed sex-and development-specific gene sets along with those associated with the accessory glands. Proteomic analyses were used to define the composition of the egg-containing gel, which is generated during multiple developmental stages and derived from both the accessory gland and other female organs. Functional studies indicate the gel provides a larval food source and thermal and dehydration buffer, all of which are critical for viability. Larval dehydration stress directly reduces production of storage proteins and key accessory gland components, a feature that impacts adult reproductive success. Modeling reveals that bouts of dehydration may significantly impact population growth. Conclusions -This work lays a foundation for further examination of reproduction in midges andprovides new information related to general reproduction in dipterans. A key aspect is that reproduction and stress dynamics, currently understudied in polar organisms, are likely to prove critical for determining how climate change will alter survivability.

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A polar insect's tale: Observations on the life cycle of Parochlus steinenii, the only winged midge native to Antarctica

Contador

Gañán

Rendoll-Cárcamo

et al. 2023

Ecology

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Life history traits of adults and embryos of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica

Cited by 17 publications

References 19 publications

Continuous activity and no cycling of clock genes in the Antarctic midge during the polar summer

Continuous activity and no cycling of clock genes in the Antarctic midge during the polar summer

Multi-level analysis of reproduction in the Antarctic midge,Belgica antarctica, identifies female and male accessory gland products that are altered by larval stress and impact progeny viability

A polar insect's tale: Observations on the life cycle of Parochlus steinenii, the only winged midge native to Antarctica

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