Two developmental switch points for the wing polymorphisms in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum
1Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan. miu@ees.hokudai.ac.jp.
Evodevo
|November 2, 2013
Summary
Wing development in pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) differs significantly between morphs. Wingless forms like oviparous females and fundatrices lack flight apparatus development, unlike winged and wingless viviparous females and males.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Insect Morphology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Wing polymorphism in insects often involves trade-offs with life-history traits.
- The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) displays complex wing polyphenism across different morphs (viviparous females, males, oviparous females, fundatrices).
- Developmental pathways for wing formation in monomorphic wingless morphs remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental processes of the flight apparatus in monomorphic wingless pea aphid morphs (oviparous females and fundatrices).
- To compare wing development trajectories across different A. pisum morphs.
Main Methods:
- Histological examination of flight apparatus development.
- Comparative analysis across various A. pisum morphs (oviparous females, fundatrices, viviparous females, males).
Main Results:
- Oviparous females and fundatrices showed no development of flight-apparatus primordia during postembryonic stages, suggesting embryonic degeneration or absence.
- Differentiation into winged or wingless forms in viviparous females and males occurred during early postembryonic instars (first or second).
Conclusions:
- Two key developmental switch points (embryonic and postembryonic) regulate flight apparatus development in A. pisum.
- Independent evolutionary acquisition of developmental pathways likely underlies the diverse wingless phenotypes.
- Delayed determination in viviparous females may facilitate condition-dependent expression of phenotypes, enabling phenotypic plasticity.
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