The transcriptomic signature of responses to larval crowding in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>

Morimoto, Juliano; Wenzel, Marius; Derous, Davina; Henry, Youn; Colinet, Hervé

doi:10.1111/1744-7917.13113

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Effects of crowding have also been used to explore yeast availability (Klepsatel et al 2018), thermal stress (Sørensen and Loeschcke 2001;Henry et al 2018), and larval crowding has enabled the manipulation of adult body size for sexual selection experiments (Mital et al 2021). A recent study on transcriptomic consequences of larval crowding was also carried out (Morimoto et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More than just density: the role of egg number, food volume and container dimensions in mediating larval competition inDrosophila melanogaster

Venkitachalam

Sajith

Joshi

2023

Preprint

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Flies of the genus Drosophila have been extensively used as model systems to study competition. Experiments using larval crowding in these species have furthered our understanding of competition ecology, stress-adaptation, density-dependent selection and population dynamics. Historically, larval competition has been induced by crowding the larvae in high density cultures, compared to low-density controls. However, recent studies have shown that two larval cultures having the same total eggs per mL food density, with different absolute quantities of eggs and food, can differ greatly in their density-specific fitness functions. Similarly, populations adapted to two types of cultures achieving the same density through different means, can also evolve different traits. Thus, it is clear that there is more to larval crowding than just eggs/food density, which has until now been the benchmark variable for quantifying larval crowding in Drosophila studies. In the current study, we explore the consequences of implementing crowding in different ways, using a three-way factorial experiment with egg number and food volume, cast into different food column heights or cylindrical vials with different diameters. We find that not just the same density, but cultures having the same egg number and food volume combination but experienced in food columns of varying height and diameter can have very different pre-adult survivorship and development times. We further propose a new variable for quantifying larval crowding: effective density, which is the density within the larval feeding band, a volume of food close to the surface, with access to air, wherein a majority of the larvae feed. We show that effective density is a much better predictor of the outcomes of competition than the popularly used total eggs/food density.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More than just density: the role of egg number, food volume and container dimensions in mediating larval competition inDrosophila melanogaster

Venkitachalam

Sajith

Joshi

2023

Preprint

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“…Larval density underpins organism‐wide physiological and behavioural responses above and beyond body size alone (Morimoto, Wenzel, et al, 2022 ). For example, in Drosophila , larval density can lead to hormesis‐like responses that increase survival (Henry et al, 2018 ; Lushchak et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social group composition modulates the role of last male sperm precedence in post-copulatory sexual selection

Morimoto

McDonald

Wigby

2023

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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In many species, the order in which males mate with a female explains much of the variation in paternity arising from post‐copulatory sexual selection. Research in Drosophila suggests that mating order may account for the majority of the variance in male reproductive success. However, the effects of mating order on paternity bias might not be static but could potentially vary with social or environmental factors. To test this idea, we used an existing dataset, collated from an experiment we previously published (Morimoto et al., PLoS One, 11, 2016, e0154468), with the addition of unpublished data from the same experiment. These previous experiments manipulated larval density in Drosophila melanogaster which generated variation in male and female body size, assembled groups of individuals of different sizes, and measured the mating success and paternity share of focal males. The data presented here provides information on each focal male's mating order and the frequency in which focal males remated with same females (‘repetitive matings’). We combined this information with our previously reported focal male reproductive success to partition variance in paternity into male mating order and repetitive matings across groups that differed in the body size composition of males and females. We found, as expected, that male mating order explained a considerable portion of the variance in male paternity. However, we also found that the impact of male mating order on male paternity was influenced by the body size composition of groups. Specifically, males that tended to mate last had a greater paternity advantage, and displayed lower variance, in groups containing a heterogenous mixture male body sizes than in groups with a single male body size. Repetitive mating only had a minor contribution to the variance in male paternity share across all experiments. Overall, our findings contribute to the growing body of research showing that post‐copulatory sexual selection is subject to socio‐ecological influences.

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“…Foraging strategies are conserved among a broad range of animal taxa, including mammals, birds, fish, and insects (Sato, 2013;van Klink et al, 2020;Mine et al, 2022). Crowding of larvae is often observed in the lab and leads to an apparent delay in pupariation and adult emergence, so the husbandry of lab populations needs to avoid the crowding of flies in their confined environments (Morimoto et al, 2023). Studying the effects of crowding on animals impacts our decisions to protect domestic and wild animals, since it is of great interest to understand how to mitigate crowding-related stress and reduce the spread of infectious diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cluster digging behavior of larvae confers trophic benefits to fitness in insects

Wu,

Wang,

Yang

et al. 2023

Insect Science

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Collective behaviors efficiently impart benefits to a diversity of species ranging from bacteria to humans. Fly larvae tend to cluster and form coordinated digging groups under crowded conditions, yet understanding the rules governing this behavior is in its infancy. We primarily took advantage of the Drosophila model to investigate cooperative foraging behavior. Here, we report that Drosophila‐related species and the black soldier fly have evolved a conserved strategy of cluster digging in food foraging. Subsequently, we investigated relative factors, including larval stage, population density, and food stiffness and quality, that affect the cluster digging behavior. Remarkably, oxygen supply through the posterior breathing spiracles is necessary for the organization of digging clusters. More importantly, we theoretically devise a mathematical model to accurately calculate how the cluster digging behavior expands food resources by diving depth, cross‐section area, and food volume. We found that cluster digging behavior approximately increases 2.2 fold depth, 1.7‐fold cross‐section area, and 2.4 fold volume than control groups, respectively. Amplification of food sources significantly facilitates survival, larval development, and reproductive success of Drosophila challenged with competition for limited food resources, thereby conferring trophic benefits to fitness in insects. Overall, our findings highlight that the cluster digging behavior is a pivotal behavior for their adaptation to food scarcity, advancing a better understanding of how this cooperative behavior confers fitness benefits in the animal kingdom.

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The transcriptomic signature of responses to larval crowding in Drosophila melanogaster

Cited by 4 publications

References 91 publications

More than just density: the role of egg number, food volume and container dimensions in mediating larval competition inDrosophila melanogaster

More than just density: the role of egg number, food volume and container dimensions in mediating larval competition inDrosophila melanogaster

Social group composition modulates the role of last male sperm precedence in post-copulatory sexual selection

The cluster digging behavior of larvae confers trophic benefits to fitness in insects

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