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Gomez RA, Dallai R, Sims-West DJ, Mercati D, Sinka R, Ahmed-Braimah Y, Pitnick S, Dorus S. Proteomic diversification of spermatostyles among six species of whirligig beetles. Mol Reprod Dev 2024; 91:e23745. [PMID: 38785179 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Seminal fluid protein composition is complex and commonly assumed to be rapidly divergent due to functional interactions with both sperm and the female reproductive tract (FRT), both of which evolve rapidly. In addition to sperm, seminal fluid may contain structures, such as mating plugs and spermatophores. Here, we investigate the evolutionary diversification of a lesser-known ejaculate structure: the spermatostyle, which has independently arisen in several families of beetles and true bugs. We characterized the spermatostyle proteome, in addition to spermatostyle and FRT morphology, in six species of whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae). Spermatostyles were enriched for proteolytic enzymes, and assays confirmed they possess proteolytic activity. Sperm-leucylaminopeptidases (S-LAPs) were particularly abundant, and their localization to spermatostyles was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Although there was evidence for functional conservation of spermatostyle proteomes across species, phylogenetic regressions suggest evolutionary covariation between protein composition and the morphology of both spermatostyles and FRTs. We postulate that S-LAPs (and other proteases) have evolved a novel structural role in spermatostyles and discuss spermatostyles as adaptations for delivering male-derived materials to females.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Antonio Gomez
- Department of Biology, Center for Reproductive Evolution, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Romano Dallai
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Dylan J Sims-West
- Department of Biology, Center for Reproductive Evolution, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - David Mercati
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Rita Sinka
- Department of Genetics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Yasir Ahmed-Braimah
- Department of Biology, Center for Reproductive Evolution, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Scott Pitnick
- Department of Biology, Center for Reproductive Evolution, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Steve Dorus
- Department of Biology, Center for Reproductive Evolution, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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2
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Salazar K, Novais A, Lino-Neto J, Serrão JE. Morphology of the Female and Male Reproductive Tracts and More Data on the Spermatostyle in the Brazilian Gyretes sp. (Coleoptera, Adephaga, Gyrinidae). MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MICROBEAM ANALYSIS SOCIETY, MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 2023; 29:2184-2203. [PMID: 37992276 DOI: 10.1093/micmic/ozad124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the male and female reproductive tracts of Gyretes sp. with light and transmission electron microscopies. The male has a pair of testes with a single coiled follicle, followed by short efferent ducts, which have a similar shape and diameter to the testes. Long ducts (epididymides) with differential epithelium open in a pair of long vasa deferentia that lead to the accessory glands. Glycoprotein secretions from the vas deferens epithelium constitute the spermatostyle for spermatozoa aggregation. The female has numerous ovarioles per ovary, a coiled fertilization duct, an accessory gland, and an elongated vagina. Spermatozoa are stored as unaggregated cells in the fertilization duct. In Gyrinidae, the testes and accessory glands show diverse shapes, and the female sperm storage organs vary in shape, size, and type and may play a role in the interaction with sperm aggregates. Testes with a single follicle and vasa deferentia opening in the accessory glands of Gyretes sp. are features shared with other Gyrinidae and other Adephaga. We proposed adding this latter trait to characterize this suborder of beetles. The morphology of the reproductive organs in both sexes contributes to comparative analyses and knowledge of the reproductive biology of Gyretes and may provide additional features for systematics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Salazar
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-900 Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris cedex 05 75231, France
| | - Ademária Novais
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-900 Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Mato Grosso, Campus Juína, Juína, 78320-000 Mato Grosso, Brazil
| | - José Lino-Neto
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-900 Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo Serrão
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-900 Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Gomez RA, Mercati D, Lupetti P, Fanciulli PP, Dallai R. Morphology of male and female reproductive systems in the ground beetle Apotomus and the peculiar sperm ultrastructure of A. rufus (P. Rossi, 1790) (Coleoptera, Carabidae). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2023; 72:101217. [PMID: 36327949 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2022.101217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Relatively few studies have focused on evolutionary losses of sexually selected male traits. We use light and electron microscopy to study the male and female reproductive anatomy of Apotomus ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae), a lineage that we reconstruct as likely having lost sperm conjugation, a putative sexually selected trait. We pay particular attention to the structure of the testes and spermatheca. Both of these organs share a strikingly similar shape-consisting of long blind canals arranged into several concentric overlapping rings measuring approximately 18 mm and 19.5 mm in total length, respectively. The similarity of these structures suggests a positive evolutionary correlation between female and male genital organs. Males are characterized by unifollicular testes with numerous germ cysts, which contain 64 sperm cells each, and we record a novel occurrence of sperm cyst "looping", a spermatogenic innovation previously only known from some fruit fly and Tenebrionid beetle sperm. The sperm are very long (about 2.7 mm) and include an extraordinarily long helicoidal acrosome, a short nucleus, and a long flagellum. These findings confirm the structural peculiarity of sperm, testis, and female reproductive tract (FRT) of Apotomus species relative to other ground beetles, which could possibly be the result of shifts in sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Antonio Gomez
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
| | - David Mercati
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Italy.
| | - Pietro Lupetti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Italy.
| | | | - Romano Dallai
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Italy.
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Salazar K, Novais A, Lino-Neto J, Serrão JE. The sperm aggregation in a whirligig beetle (Coleoptera, Gyrinidae): structure, functions, and comparison with related taxa. ORG DIVERS EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-021-00528-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Gustafson GT, Michat MC, Balke M. Burmese amber reveals a new stem lineage of whirligig beetle (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) based on the larval stage. Zool J Linn Soc 2020; 189:1232-1248. [PMID: 32780030 PMCID: PMC7398075 DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Burmese amber is well known for preserving unique extinct lineages of insects. Here, we describe a new fossil beetle in its larval stage from Burmese amber. Bayesian and parsimony phylogenetic analysis of 50 morphological characters support this fossil as being sister to both the tribes Dineutini and Orectochilini, representing an extinct stem lineage in Gyrininae. It is described here as a new genus and species of whirligig beetle, Chimerogyrus gigagalea gen. & sp. nov., a taxon that preserves remarkable intermediate features between the whirligig beetle tribe Gyrinini and the crown Orectochilini and Dineutini. This new taxon preserves key features for studying the evolution of characters within the larval stage of the Gyrinidae and highlights the importance of Burmese amber for preserving both stem and crown lineages present during the mid-Cretaceous, before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grey T Gustafson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Division of Entomology, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Mariano C Michat
- Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Biodiversity and Experimental Biology, Institute of Biodiversity and Experimental and Applied Biology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Michael Balke
- State Bavarian Collection of Zoology, München, Germany
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Luo A, Duchêne DA, Zhang C, Zhu CD, Ho SYW. A Simulation-Based Evaluation of Tip-Dating Under the Fossilized Birth-Death Process. Syst Biol 2020; 69:325-344. [PMID: 31132125 PMCID: PMC7175741 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Bayesian molecular dating is widely used to study evolutionary timescales. This procedure usually involves phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequence data, with fossil-based calibrations applied as age constraints on internal nodes of the tree. An alternative approach is tip-dating, which explicitly includes fossil data in the analysis. This can be done, for example, through the joint analysis of molecular data from present-day taxa and morphological data from both extant and fossil taxa. In the context of tip-dating, an important development has been the fossilized birth-death process, which allows non-contemporaneous tips and sampled ancestors while providing a model of lineage diversification for the prior on the tree topology and internal node times. However, tip-dating with fossils faces a number of considerable challenges, especially, those associated with fossil sampling and evolutionary models for morphological characters. We conducted a simulation study to evaluate the performance of tip-dating using the fossilized birth-death model. We simulated fossil occurrences and the evolution of nucleotide sequences and morphological characters under a wide range of conditions. Our analyses of these data show that the number and the maximum age of fossil occurrences have a greater influence than the degree of among-lineage rate variation or the number of morphological characters on estimates of node times and the tree topology. Tip-dating with the fossilized birth-death model generally performs well in recovering the relationships among extant taxa but has difficulties in correctly placing fossil taxa in the tree and identifying the number of sampled ancestors. The method yields accurate estimates of the ages of the root and crown group, although the precision of these estimates varies with the probability of fossil occurrence. The exclusion of morphological characters results in a slight overestimation of node times, whereas the exclusion of nucleotide sequences has a negative impact on inference of the tree topology. Our results provide an overview of the performance of tip-dating using the fossilized birth-death model, which will inform further development of the method and its application to key questions in evolutionary biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arong Luo
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - David A Duchêne
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Chao-Dong Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Simon Y W Ho
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Kumari P, Dong K, Eo KY, Lee WS, Kimura J, Yamamoto N. DNA metabarcoding-based diet survey for the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra): Development of a Eurasian otter-specific blocking oligonucleotide for 12S rRNA gene sequencing for vertebrates. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226253. [PMID: 31830120 PMCID: PMC6907848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is an endangered species for which diet analyses are needed as part of its conservation efforts. Eurasian otters feed on vertebrates, such as fishes, and invertebrates, such as crustaceans, but their detailed taxonomies are not fully understood in part due to limited resolving power of traditional morphological identification methods. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing (HTS)-based DNA metabarcoding approaches to analyze diet profiles of Eurasian otters inhabiting a marshy estuary area in Korea. We investigated their diet profiles based on spraint sampling followed by DNA metabarcoding analyses targeting 12S rRNA gene region for vertebrates, 16S rRNA gene region for invertebrates, and cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) gene region for fishes. For the vertebrate analysis, a blocking oligonucleotide (OBS1) was designed to suppress amplification of DNA fragments derived from the otters. The 12S rRNA gene sequencing assay detected species belonging to fishes (95%) and amphibians (3.3%). Fishes detected by 12S rRNA gene sequencing included crucian carp (Carassius auratus), mullets (Mugil spp.), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and northern snakehead (Channa argus), which were also detected by COI gene sequencing. Among invertebrates, mud flat crabs (Helicana spp.) and shrimps (Palaemon spp.) were abundant. The designed blocking oligonucleotide OBS1 effectively inhibited amplification of the otter’s DNA, with only up to 0.21% of vertebrate sequence reads assigned to the otter. This study demonstrated that HTS-based DNA metabarcoding methods were useful to provide in-depth information regarding diet profiles of the otters at our sampling site. By using HTS-based DNA metabarcoding approaches, future research will explore detailed taxonomies of their diets across locations and seasons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Kumari
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Ke Dong
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Kyung Yeon Eo
- Conservation and Research Center, Seoul Zoo, Gwacheon, South Korea
| | - Woo-Shin Lee
- Department of Forest Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Junpei Kimura
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Naomichi Yamamoto
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- * E-mail: .
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Toussaint EF, Short AE. Transoceanic Stepping–stones between Cretaceous waterfalls? The enigmatic biogeography of pantropical Oocyclus cascade beetles. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018; 127:416-428. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 04/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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9
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Michat MC, Gustafson GT, Bergsten J. Larval description and chaetotaxic analysis of Dineutus sinuosipennis Laporte, 1840, with a key for the identification of larvae of the tribe Dineutini (Coleoptera, Gyrinidae). Zookeys 2018:95-114. [PMID: 29290715 PMCID: PMC5740426 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.718.20726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The larvae of the Malagasy whirligig beetle Dineutussinuosipennis Laporte, 1840, identified using DNA sequence data, are described and illustrated for the first time, including detailed morphometric and chaetotaxic analyses of selected structures and a description of larval habitat. Larvae of the genus Dineutus Macleay, 1825 are diagnosed, and a key to identify the genera of the tribe Dineutini is presented. Larvae of Dineutus exhibit the characters traditionally recognized as autapomorphies of the Gyrinidae: body less sclerotized, egg bursters located on the parietal, one additional sensorial plate on the third antennomere, cardo and lacinia well developed, prementum completely divided, abdominal tracheal gills, and four terminal hooks on the pygopod. They also share with larvae of the other Dineutini genera these putative synapomorphies: numerous minute pore-like additional structures on the ultimate maxillary and labial palpomeres, coxal primary seta CO12 inserted submedially, and trochanteral primary seta TR2 absent. Larvae of Dineutus can be distinguished from those of other known genera of Dineutini by the posterior margin of the lacinia not dentate, tracheal gills plumose, parietal seta PA5 inserted relatively far from setae PA7–9, mandibular pores MNb and MNc inserted relatively far from each other, and tarsal seta TA1 inserted submedially.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano C Michat
- University of Buenos Aires, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Department of Biodiversity and Experimental Biology, Laboratory of Entomology, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,CONICET-University of Buenos Aires, Institute of Biodiversity and Experimental and Applied Biology, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Grey T Gustafson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Johannes Bergsten
- Department of Zoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
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