Title: | Variation in attraction to host plant odors in an invasive moth has a genetic basis and is genetically negatively correlated with fecundity |
Author(s): | Najar-Rodriguez A; Schneeberger M; Bellutti N; Dorn S; |
Address: | "Institute of Agricultural Sciences/Applied Entomology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland" |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10519-012-9539-9 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-3297 (Electronic) 0001-8244 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Lepidopteran insects are major pests of agricultural crops, and mated female moths exploit plant volatiles to locate suitable hosts for oviposition. We investigated the heritability of odor-guided host location behavior and fecundity in the cosmopolitan oriental fruit moth Grapholita (Cydia) molesta, an oligophagous herbivore that attacks fruit trees. We used a full-sib/half-sib approach to estimate the heritability and the genetic correlation between these two traits. Results document a considerable genetic basis for olfactory attraction of females (h ( 2 ) = 0.37 +/- 0.17) and their fecundity (h ( 2 ) = 0.32 +/- 0.13), as well as a genetic trade-off between female attraction and fecundity (r ( g ) = -0.85 +/- 0.21). These estimations were empirically corroborated by comparing two strains maintained in the laboratory for different numbers of generations. The long-term reared strain lost its olfactory discrimination ability but achieved significantly higher fecundity compared with the short-term reared strain. Our results highlight that genetic studies are relevant for understanding the evolution of odor-guided behavior in herbivore insects and for judging the promise of pest management strategies involving behavioral manipulation with plant volatiles" |
Keywords: | "Animals *Behavior, Animal Female Fertility/genetics Herbivory/*genetics Moths/*genetics *Odorants Prunus *Smell Volatile Organic Compounds;" |
Notes: | "MedlineNajar-Rodriguez, A Schneeberger, M Bellutti, N Dorn, S eng 2012/04/25 Behav Genet. 2012 Jul; 42(4):687-97. doi: 10.1007/s10519-012-9539-9. Epub 2012 Apr 22" |