Moth pheromone genetics and evolution

1993 ◽  
Vol 340 (1292) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Genetic Dissection ◽  
Pheromone Communication ◽  
Mate Finding ◽  
Important Progress

Sex pheromone communication in moths is a well investigated case of mate-finding by chemical signals, but the evolutionary causes of the great complexity and diversity of these signals are still not generally agreed on. In the present paper, I argue that there is no reason to dismiss species recognition as a possible cause of evolutionary change in moth sex pheromones. Admittedly, selection for species recognition cannot explain all of the diversity in sex pheromones and the data supporting this contention are weak, but the alternative causes suggested, invoking mate choice between conspecifics as the mechanism of sexual selection, has so far no empirical support. Finding and analysing genes responsible for m ate choice is important to corroborate any theory of sexual selection and speciation. In this respect genetic dissection of moth pheromone communication has provided important progress. Mendelian genes controlling differences in m ate choice and in the production of mate recognition signals have been found. Polymorphic pheromone systems give the population biologists unique possibilities to study mate choice and selection at the genotype level in nature.

scholarly journals Differences in Long-Chained Cuticular Hydrocarbons between Males and Gynes in Cataglyphis Desert Ants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shani Inbar ◽  
Eyal Privman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Polar Fraction ◽  
Virgin Queens ◽  
First Time

AbstractCuticualar hydrocarbons play an important role in chemical communication in social insects, serving, among other things, as nestmate, gender, dominance and fertility recognition cues. In ants, however, very little is known about the precopulatory signals cuticular hydrocarbons carry. These signals may serve as affecting sex pheromones and aphrodisiacs or as reliable signals for idiosyncratic traits, which indirectly affect sexual selection. In this study, we examined, for the first time, in the Cataglyphis genus, sex-specific variability in cuticular hydrocarbons. We focused on a species that exhibits split sex-ratio and found significant quantitative differences between virgin queens and their potential mates. In an analyses of both absolute amounts and relative amounts, we found different compounds to be significantly displayed on gynes and drones, suggesting absolute and relative amounts may carry different signals influencing mating behavior and mate choice. We discuss the possible signals advertised by the non-polar fraction of these hydrocarbon profiles.

scholarly journals The evolution of female sex pheromones

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ally R. Harari ◽  
Hadass Steinitz
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Social Selection ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Breeding Resources

Abstract The role of female sex pheromones in natural selection, particularly as a means for species recognition to avoid the generation of hybrid offspring with low fitness, has been widely explored and is generally accepted by scholars. However, the significance of sex pheromones in shaping mate choice (sexual selection) and in competition over breeding resources (social selection) has been largely ignored. The effect of sexual selection on sex pheromones as a sexually dimorphic signaling trait has been discounted because the amount of pheromone released by females is typically minute, while the role of sex pheromones in competition over breeding resources (other than mates) has not yet been considered. As a result of natural selection, variation in sex pheromones among females is expected to be low, and males are not expected to choose their mates among phero-mone-releasing conspecific females. Sexual selection, on the other hand, should drive the increase in pheromone variance among females, and males are expected to choose females based on this variation. Moreover, social selection resulting from more general social interactions, for example competition among females for breeding sites and food, should also promote variance among female sex pheromones. Here, we review the current evidence for each of the three selection processes acting on sex pheromones of female moths as an advertising trait. We suggest that the three selection types are not mutually exclusive but rather act together to promote different fitness components in diverse ecological situations.

scholarly journals Conflicting preferences within females: sexual selection versus species recognition

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gil G. Rosenthal ◽  
Michael J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Multiple Cues ◽  
Individual Female

Preferences for mates within and between species are often harmonious, as traits that females prefer are usually more developed in conspecifics than heterospecifics. This need not be the case, however. When it is not, conflict between these arenas of mate choice can be resolved if females attend to different cues for each task. But this raises the potential for correlations among preferences to limit the opportunity for these two processes to operate independently. Here, we show that, within individual female pygmy swordtails ( Xiphophorus pygmaeus ), directional preferences for conspicuous ornamentation are inversely associated with discrimination against a sympatric heterospecific, Xiphophorus cortezi . Thus, mate choice among and within species need not be separate, independent processes; instead, they can be mechanistically intertwined. As a consequence, different arenas of mate choice can constrain one another, even when females assess multiple cues.

scholarly journals Sexual selection accelerates signal evolution during speciation in birds

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1766) ◽  
pp. 20131065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Seddon ◽  
Carlos A. Botero ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias ◽  
Peter O. Dunn ◽  
Hannah E. A. MacGregor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Signal Evolution ◽  
Phenotypic Divergence ◽  
Accelerated Evolution ◽  
Male Plumage

Sexual selection is proposed to be an important driver of diversification in animal systems, yet previous tests of this hypothesis have produced mixed results and the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here, we use a novel phylogenetic approach to assess the influence of sexual selection on patterns of evolutionary change during 84 recent speciation events across 23 passerine bird families. We show that elevated levels of sexual selection are associated with more rapid phenotypic divergence between related lineages, and that this effect is restricted to male plumage traits proposed to function in mate choice and species recognition. Conversely, we found no evidence that sexual selection promoted divergence in female plumage traits, or in male traits related to foraging and locomotion. These results provide strong evidence that female choice and male–male competition are dominant mechanisms driving divergence during speciation in birds, potentially linking sexual selection to the accelerated evolution of pre-mating reproductive isolation.

scholarly journals Social transmission of face preferences among humans

2007 ◽  
Vol 274 (1611) ◽  
pp. 899-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict C Jones ◽  
Lisa M DeBruine ◽  
Anthony C Little ◽  
Robert P Burriss ◽  
David R Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Social Transmission ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Mate Choice Copying ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Women’S Preferences

Previous studies demonstrating mate choice copying effects among females in non-human species have led many researchers to propose that social transmission of mate preferences may influence sexual selection for male traits. Although it has been suggested that social transmission may also influence mate preferences in humans, there is little empirical support for such effects. Here, we show that observing other women with smiling (i.e. positive) expressions looking at male faces increased women's preferences for those men to a greater extent than did observing women with neutral (i.e. relatively negative) expressions looking at male faces. By contrast, the reverse was true for male participants (i.e. observing women with neutral expressions looking at male faces increased male participant's preferences for those men to a greater extent than did observing women smiling at male faces). This latter finding suggests that within-sex competition promotes negative attitudes among men towards other men who are the target of positive social interest from women. Our findings demonstrate that social transmission of face preferences influences judgments of men's attractiveness, potentially demonstrating a mechanism for social transmission of mate preferences.

A Cognitive Framework for Mate Choice and Species Recognition

2006 ◽  
Vol 167 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Phelps ◽  
Rand ◽  
Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Framework

scholarly journals The production of excretory-secretory molecules from Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri fourth stage larvae varies between mixed and single sex cultures

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Maruszewska-Cheruiyot ◽  
Ludmiła Szewczak ◽  
Katarzyna Krawczak-Wójcik ◽  
Magdalena Głaczyńska ◽  
Katarzyna Donskow-Łysoniewska
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Pheromone Communication ◽  
Larval Culture ◽  
Heligmosomoides Polygyrus ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Potential Vaccine ◽  
Immunomodulatory Properties ◽  
Therapeutic Compounds ◽  
Immunomodulatory Potential

Abstract Background Excretory-secretory (ES) products are crucial in maintaining helminths in the host. Consequently, the proteins of ES are potential vaccine molecules and potential therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri, a gastrointestinal parasite of mice, is a model of hookworm infection in humans. ES produced by both sexes of H. polygyrus bakeri L4 stage cultured separately shows different immunomodulatory properties than ES obtained when both sexes are cultured together. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify and compare the excretory-secretory molecules from single-sex and mixed cultures. Methods The composition of ES of male and female L4 stage nematodes in the presence (cultured together) or absence (cultured alone) of the opposite sex was examined. Proteins were identified using mass spectrometry. The functions of identified proteins were explored with Blast2GO. Results A total of 258 proteins derived from mixed larval culture in the presence of sex pheromones were identified, 160 proteins from pure female cultures and 172 from pure male cultures. Exposure of nematodes to the sex pheromones results in abundant production of proteins with immunomodulatory properties such as Val proteins, acetylcholinesterases, TGF-β mimic 9 and HpARI. Proteins found only in ES from mixed larval cultures were TGF-β mimics 6 and 7 as well as galectin. Conclusions The presence of the opposite sex strongly influences the composition of ES products, probably by chemical (pheromone) communication between individuals. However, examination of the composition of ES from various conditions gives an opportunity for searching for new potentially therapeutic compounds and anthelminthics as well as components of vaccines. Manipulation of the nematode environment might be important for the studies on the immunomodulatory potential of nematodes.

scholarly journals Gamete-mediated mate choice: towards a more inclusive view of sexual selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1883) ◽  
pp. 20180836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Kekäläinen ◽  
Jonathan P. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Random Interactions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
The Everyday

‘Sperm competition’—where ejaculates from two or more males compete for fertilization—and ‘cryptic female choice’—where females bias this contest to suit their reproductive interests—are now part of the everyday lexicon of sexual selection. Yet the physiological processes that underlie these post-ejaculatory episodes of sexual selection remain largely enigmatic. In this review, we focus on a range of post-ejaculatory cellular- and molecular-level processes, known to be fundamental for fertilization across most (if not all) sexually reproducing species, and point to their putative role in facilitating sexual selection at the level of the cells and gametes, called ‘gamete-mediated mate choice’ (GMMC). In this way, we collate accumulated evidence for GMMC across different mating systems, and emphasize the evolutionary significance of such non-random interactions among gametes. Our overall aim in this review is to build a more inclusive view of sexual selection by showing that mate choice often acts in more nuanced ways than has traditionally been assumed. We also aim to bridge the conceptual divide between proximal mechanisms of reproduction, and adaptive explanations for patterns of non-random sperm–egg interactions that are emerging across an increasingly diverse array of taxa.

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