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Ingham CS, Engl T, Kaltenpoth M. Protection of a defensive symbiont does not constrain the composition of the multifunctional hydrocarbon profile in digger wasps. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230301. [PMID: 37909057 PMCID: PMC10618855 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0301] [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: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hydrocarbons (HCs) fulfil indispensable functions in insects, protecting against desiccation and serving chemical communication. However, the link between composition and function, and the selection pressures shaping HC profiles remain poorly understood. Beewolf digger wasps (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) use an antennal gland secretion rich in linear unsaturated HCs to form a hydrophobic barrier around their defensive bacterial symbiont, protecting it from brood cell fumigation by toxic egg-produced nitric oxide (NO). Virtually identical HC compositions mediate desiccation protection and prey preservation from moulding in underground beewolf brood cells. It is unknown whether this composition presents an optimized adaptation to all functions, or a compromise due to conflicting selection pressures. Here, we reconstitute the NO barrier with single and binary combinations of synthetic linear saturated and unsaturated HCs, corresponding to HCs found in beewolves. The results show that pure alkanes as well as 3 : 1 mixtures of alkanes and alkenes resembling the composition of beewolf HCs form efficient protective barriers against NO, indicating that protection can be achieved by different mixtures of HCs. Since in vitro assays with symbiont cultures from different beewolf hosts indicate widespread NO sensitivity, HC-mediated protection from NO is likely important across Philanthini wasps. We conclude that HC-mediated protection of the symbiont from NO does not exert a conflicting selection pressure on the multifunctional HC profile of beewolves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantal Selina Ingham
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Tobias Engl
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Kaltenpoth
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Str. 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
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Castillo R, Wurdack M, Pauli T, Keller A, Feldhaar H, Polidori C, Niehuis O, Schmitt T. Evidence for a chemical arms race between cuckoo wasps of the genus Hedychrum and their distantly related host apoid wasps. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:138. [PMID: 36443667 PMCID: PMC9703671 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02093-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brood parasites can exert strong selection pressure on their hosts. Many brood parasites escape their detection by mimicking sensory cues of their hosts. However, there is little evidence whether or not the hosts are able to escape the parasites' mimicry by changing these cues. We addressed this question by analyzing cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles of Cerceris and Philanthus wasps and their brood parasites, cuckoo wasps mimicking the CHC profiles of their hosts. Some of these hosts use hydrocarbons to preserve their prey against fungal infestation and thus, they cannot significantly change their CHC composition in response to chemical mimicry by Hedychrum brood parasites. RESULTS We found that the CHC overlap between brood parasites and their hosts was lower in case of host wasps not preserving their prey than in case of prey-preserving host wasps, whose CHC evolution is constrained. Furthermore, the CHC profiles in non-preserving host wasps is more strongly diversified in females than in males, thus in the sex that is chemically mimicked by brood parasites. CONCLUSION Our results provide evidence for a chemical arms race between those hosts that are liberated from stabilizing selection on their chemical template and their parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Castillo
- grid.8379.50000 0001 1958 8658Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Mareike Wurdack
- grid.8379.50000 0001 1958 8658Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany ,grid.5963.9Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Pauli
- grid.5963.9Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany ,grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Straße 153, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Keller
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XCellular and Organismic Networks, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University München, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- grid.7384.80000 0004 0467 6972Animal Population Ecology, Department of Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Carlo Polidori
- grid.4708.b0000 0004 1757 2822Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 26, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Oliver Niehuis
- grid.5963.9Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- grid.8379.50000 0001 1958 8658Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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Sann M, Niehuis O, Peters RS, Mayer C, Kozlov A, Podsiadlowski L, Bank S, Meusemann K, Misof B, Bleidorn C, Ohl M. Phylogenomic analysis of Apoidea sheds new light on the sister group of bees. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:71. [PMID: 29776336 PMCID: PMC5960199 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1155-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Apoid wasps and bees (Apoidea) are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of Hymenoptera, with some species of bees having evolved eusocial societies. Major problems for our understanding of the evolutionary history of Apoidea have been the difficulty to trace the phylogenetic origin and to reliably estimate the geological age of bees. To address these issues, we compiled a comprehensive phylogenomic dataset by simultaneously analyzing target DNA enrichment and transcriptomic sequence data, comprising 195 single-copy protein-coding genes and covering all major lineages of apoid wasps and bee families. Results Our compiled data matrix comprised 284,607 nucleotide sites that we phylogenetically analyzed by applying a combination of domain- and codon-based partitioning schemes. The inferred results confirm the polyphyletic status of the former family “Crabronidae”, which comprises nine major monophyletic lineages. We found the former subfamily Pemphredoninae to be polyphyletic, comprising three distantly related clades. One of them, Ammoplanina, constituted the sister group of bees in all our analyses. We estimate the origin of bees to be in the Early Cretaceous (ca. 128 million years ago), a time period during which angiosperms rapidly radiated. Finally, our phylogenetic analyses revealed that within the Apoidea, (eu)social societies evolved exclusively in a single clade that comprises pemphredonine and philanthine wasps as well as bees. Conclusion By combining transcriptomic sequences with those obtained via target DNA enrichment, we were able to include an unprecedented large number of apoid wasps in a phylogenetic study for tracing the phylogenetic origin of bees. Our results confirm the polyphyletic nature of the former wasp family Crabonidae, which we here suggest splitting into eight families. Of these, the family Ammoplanidae possibly represents the extant sister lineage of bees. Species of Ammoplanidae are known to hunt thrips, of which some aggregate on flowers and feed on pollen. The specific biology of Ammoplanidae as predators indicates how the transition from a predatory to pollen-collecting life style could have taken place in the evolution of bees. This insight plus the finding that (eu)social societies evolved exclusively in a single subordinated lineage of apoid wasps provides new perspectives for future comparative studies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1155-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Sann
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany. .,Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany. .,University of Freiburg, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Oliver Niehuis
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany.,University of Freiburg, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ralph S Peters
- Center of Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Arthropoda Department, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Christoph Mayer
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexey Kozlov
- HITS gGmbH, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lars Podsiadlowski
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sarah Bank
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Animal Evolution and Biodiversity, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Karen Meusemann
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany.,University of Freiburg, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, Hauptstr. 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernhard Misof
- Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Christoph Bleidorn
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Animal Evolution and Biodiversity, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Ohl
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
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Wurdack M, Polidori C, Keller A, Feldhaar H, Schmitt T. Release from prey preservation behavior via prey switch allowed diversification of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in digger wasps. Evolution 2017; 71:2562-2571. [PMID: 28791674 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2017] [Revised: 07/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The cuticle of insects is covered by a layer of hydrocarbons (CHC), whose original function is the protection from desiccation and pathogens. However, in most insects CHC profiles are species specific. While this variability among species was largely linked to communication and recognition functions, additional selective forces may shape insect CHC profiles. Here, we show that in Philanthinae digger wasps (Crabronidae) the CHC profile coevolved with a peculiar brood-care strategy. In particular, we found that the behavior to embalm prey stored in the nest with hydrocarbons is adaptive to protect larval food from fungi in those species hunting for Hymenoptera. The prey embalming secretion is identical in composition to the alkene-dominated CHC profile in these species, suggesting that their profile is adaptively conserved for this purpose. In contrast, prey embalming is not required in those species that switched to Coleoptera as prey. Released from this chemical brood-care strategy, Coleoptera-hunting species considerably diversified their CHC profiles. Differential needs to successfully protect prey types used as larval food have thus driven the diversification of CHCs profiles of female Philanthinae wasps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a direct link between selection pressure for food preservation and CHC diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Wurdack
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, D-79114 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Carlo Polidori
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (ICAM), University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avenida Carlos III, s/n; E-45071 Toledo, Spain
| | - Alexander Keller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.,Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, Campus Nord, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Department of Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
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Weiss K, Herzner G, Strohm E. Sexual selection and the evolution of male pheromone glands in philanthine wasps (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae). BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:128. [PMID: 28587589 PMCID: PMC5461632 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0963-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sexual selection is thought to promote evolutionary changes and diversification. However, the impact of sexual selection in relation to other selective forces is difficult to evaluate. Male digger wasps of the tribe Philanthini (Hymenoptera, Philanthinae) scent mark territories to attract receptive females. Consequently, the organs for production and storage of the marking secretion, the mandibular gland (MG) and the postpharyngeal gland (PPG), are subject to sexual selection. In female Philanthini, these glands are most likely solely subject to natural selection and show very little morphological diversity. According to the hypothesis that sexual selection drives interspecific diversity, we predicted that the MG and PPG show higher interspecific variation in males than in females. Using histological methods, 3D-reconstructions, and multivariate statistical analysis of morphological characters, we conducted a comparative analysis of the MG and the PPG in males of 30 species of Philanthini and three species of the Cercerini and Aphilanthopsini, two related tribes within the Philanthinae. Results We found substantial interspecific diversity in gland morphology with regard to gland incidence, size, shape and the type of associated secretory cells. Overall there was a phylogenetic trend: Ensuing from the large MGs and small PPGs of male Cercerini and Aphilanthopsini, the size and complexity of the MG was reduced in male Philanthini, while their PPG became considerably enlarged, substantially more complex, and associated with an apparently novel type of secretory cells. In some clades of the Philanthini the MG was even lost and entirely replaced by the PPG. However, several species showed reversals of and exceptions from this trend. Head gland morphology was significantly more diverse among male than among female Philanthinae. Conclusion Our results show considerable variation in male head glands including the loss of an entire gland system and the evolution of a novel kind of secretory cells, confirming the prediction that interspecific diversity in head gland morphology is higher in male than in female Philanthini. We discuss possible causes for the remarkable evolutionary changes in males and we conclude that this high diversity has been caused by sexual selection. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0963-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Weiss
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Gudrun Herzner
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Erhard Strohm
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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