Reproductive adaptation in alate adult morphs of the English grain aphid Sitobion avenae under starvation stress

Abstract

Adapting their reproductive physiology is a tactic that insects use in responding to conditions of food unavailability. The present study examined the potential effects of starvation periods on the ovarian development and reproduction of alate adult morphs of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius). Morphs both continuously fed and starved aphids contained two telotrophic ovaries, each comprising five ovarioles. As time increase after emergence, the number of offspring produced by the fed aphids increased gradually, whereas the number of embryos in their ovaries decreased gradually. Both the number of mature embryos and the volume of embryos rapidly increased at 24 h after emergence, and then remained at an approximately constant level between 24 and 144 h. Compared to the fed aphids, starved aphids only produced a small number of nymphs, and there was no significant change in the total number of embryos between 24 and 144 h, whereas both the number of mature embryos and volume of embryos increased significantly. Irrespective of starvation period, highly significant relationships between life span and fecundity were found. Adult aphids starved for longer periods presented lower longevity and fecundity, but dead females contained more mature embryos than those starved for shorter periods. These results suggested that, under starvation stress, S. avenae tends to invest in the development of larger embryos at the expense of reducing lifespan and future fecundity. This adaptive reproductive strategy under starvation stress could be one of the factors contributing to the successful establishment of new colonies of alate migratory aphids.

Fluctuating Starvation Conditions Modify Host-Symbiont Relationship Between a Leaf Beetle and Its Newly Identified Gregarine Species

“…In accordance with the lower body mass of adult P. cochleariae that had experienced starvation in early life, these females also laid less eggs, which may be related to fewer resources available for egg production for lighter females (Beukeboom, 2018). The fecundity of various insect species is reduced when experiencing limited resources during early ontogeny (Matos et al, 2017;Rosa and Saastamoinen, 2017;Xu et al, 2019). In our study, the number of eggs was lowest when females were both starved as larvae and gregarine-infected.…”

Polyphenism in Antennal Sensilla Among Different Adult Morphs of Nonhost-Alternating, Holocyclic Sitobion avenae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

“…The laboratory population was raised using the water-cultured wheat seedling method ( Triticum aestivum L. CV. Xinong 979) in a climate chamber at 21 ± 1°C, 65 ± 10% relative humidity (RH), and a photoperiod of 16 h light: 8 h dark ( Xu et al 2019 ).…”

Influence of selected biogenic amines on development and demographic parameters of a temperate population of Cinara (Cupressobium) cupressi (Hemiptera, Aphididae)

“…In female insects, one of the body's responses to periodic starvation is oocyte resorption (Lim and Lee 1981;Soller et al 1999;Rosenheim et al 2000;Kotaki 2003). In the aphid species, Megoura viciae Buckton (Ward and Dixon 1982;Brough and Dixon 1990) or Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris (Soldan and Stary 1981) starvation led to resorption of the smallest embryos, whereas S. avenae tends to invest in the development of larger embryos at the expense of reducing the lifespan and future fecundity (Xu et al 2019). In our experiments, the selected biogenic amines used influenced the number of developing embryos, which was especially visible in the F0 generation.…”