Wolbachia-induced incompatibility precedes other hybrid incompatibilities in Nasonia

Wolbachia are cytoplasmically inherited bacteria that cause a number of reproductive alterations in insects, including cytoplasmic incompatibility, an incompatibility between sperm and egg that results in loss of sperm chromosomes following fertilization. Wolbachia are estimated to infect 15-20% of all insect species, and also are common in arachnids, isopods and nematodes. Therefore, Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility could be an important factor promoting rapid speciation in invertebrates, although this contention is controversial. Here we show that high levels of bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility between two closely related species of insects (the parasitic wasps Nasonia giraulti and Nasonia longicornis) preceded the evolution of other postmating reproductive barriers. The presence of Wolbachia severely reduces the frequency of hybrid offspring in interspecies crosses. However, antibiotic curing of the insects results in production of hybrids. Furthermore, F1 and F2 hybrids are completely viable and fertile, indicating the absence of F1 and F2 hybrid breakdown. Partial interspecific sexual isolation occurs, yet it is asymmetric and incomplete. Our results indicate that Wolbachia-induced reproductive isolation occurred in the early stages of speciation in this system, before the evolution of other postmating isolating mechanisms (for example, hybrid inviability and hybrid sterility).     

Genetic rescue of inviable hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and its sibling species

Post-mating mechanisms are central to the establishment of reproductive isolation between different, but closely related, species. Post-mating isolation mechanisms include hybrid breakdown, hybrid sterility and hybrid lethality and may, in some cases, be reinforced by pre-mating mechanisms such as ethological differentiation. In the Drosophila melanogaster species sub-group post-mating reproductive isolation is ensured by both the inviability and the sterility of hybrids. For example when D. melanogaster females are crossed to D. simulans males the hybrid progeny are normally all female; the hybrid males die as third instar larvae. The viable hybrid females are totally sterile. Little is known of the genetic basis for either hybrid sterility or hybrid inviability, although Coyne and others have begun a genetic analysis of the sterility of hybrids within this species sub-group. We have discovered a single gene difference that rescues the otherwise inviable male hybrids from the cross between D. melanogaster females and males of its three closest relatives. The study of this locus may shed light on the genetic control of both speciation and development.     

Testes and chromosomes in interspecific hybrids betweenHelicoverpa armigera (Hübner) andHelicoverpa assulta (Guenée)

The interspecific hybridization betweenHelicoverpa armigera females andHelicoverpa assulta males yieldedF ₁ hybrids (RS), fertile males and sterile individuals with abnormal genitals. The reverse hybridization betweenH. assulta females andH. armigera males yielded F₁ hybrids (SR)-fertile males and fertile females. The morphology of testes and the karyotype of chromosomes of larvae in the hybrids were investigated. Among the 2d old fifth-instar SR larvae, individuals without testes were fertile females and those with testes were fertile males. The length and breadth of testes between SR and parental species were not significantly different (p>0.05). Among the 2d old fifth-instar RS larvae, the testes were observed in all the individuals, but it could be classified into two types. The length and the breadth of testes in Type 1 larvae were not significantly different from those of their parental species (p>0.05), while those in Type 2 were significantly less than those of their parental species (p<0.01). Mitotic metaphase I of brain cells showed the diploid chromosomes number of both reciprocal hybrids was 2n=62, as many as their parents. The haploid number of 31 was confirmed by counts from spermatocytes at meiotic metaphase from SR male larvae and Type 1 larvae of RS. Meiosis was not observed in spermatocytes of Type 2 larvae of RS. Considering the characteristics of adult hybrids of RS, it was concluded that Type 1 individuals in RS were fertile and those of Type 2 were sterile. The sterility of Type 2 individuals in RS is attributed to the abnormity in development of testes and the failing meiosis of spermatocytes. As a result, the normal spermatozoon could not been produced.     

Microorganisms associated with chromosome destruction and reproductive isolation between two insect species

Microorganisms have been implicated in causing cytoplasmic incompatibility in a variety of insect species, including mosquitoes, fruitflies, beetles and wasps. The effect is typically unidirectional: incompatible crosses produce no progeny or sterile males, whereas the reciprocal crosses produce normal progeny. The parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis is one of the few species in which the cytogenetic mechanism of incompatibility is known. In this species the paternal chromosome set forms a tangled mass in a fertilized egg and is eventually lost. Here we report that cytoplasmic microorganisms are associated with complete bidirectional incompatibility between N. vitripennis and a closely related sympatric species, N. giraulti. Microorganisms can be seen in the eggs of both species. Hybrid offspring are normally not produced in crosses between the two species, but do occur after elimination of the microorganisms by antibiotic treatment. A cytogenetic and genetic study shows that bidirectional interspecific incompatibility is due to improper condensation of the paternal chromosomes. Microorganism-mediated reproductive isolation is of interest because it could provide a rapid mode of speciation. The mechanism of incompatibility in Nasonia is also of interest as a potential tool for studying chromosome imprinting and chromosome condensation.     

Host selection of Helicoverpa armigera and H. assulta and its inheritance

The difference in host selection between the polyphagous Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and the oligophagous H. assulta Quenée was examined, with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) (hosts of H. armigera), tobacco (Nicotiana tobaccum) (host of both H. armigera and H. assulta), and bush redpepper (Capsicum frutescens) (host of H. assulta) as testing plants. A multiple-choice test was used with caged plant cuttings for adult oviposition and with leaf discs for larval feeding. A no-choice test was run for evaluating larval growth rate. The results indicated that the relationship between larval performance and adult preference of H. assulta was more conspicuous than that of H. armigera. Reciprocal hybridization between H. armigera and H. assulta followed by backcrossing of the hybrids (F1) with H. armigera was also carried out for genetic study on host selection of these two insect species. A two-choice test with cotton and bush redpepper leaf discs showed that H. armigera larvae preferred to feed on cotton, and H. assulta larvae to bush redpepper; feeding preferences of the two F1 lines were intermediate between those of their parents, but close to that of their female parent; preference indexes of backcross lines also showed that both maternal factor and chromosomal inheritance were involved in feeding selection of two Helicoverpa species.     

棉铃虫泛素基因的克隆及序列分析

泛素介导的泛素-蛋白酶体通路(Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway,UPP)是真核细胞内依赖ATP的非溶酶体蛋白质降解途径,该途径对细胞内蛋白的选择性降解起着重要作用.设计一对简并引物,从棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera卵巢细胞Ha831中克隆了泛素基因的编码区,GenBank登录号AY456195.序列分析表明,该编码区的长度为228bp,编码76个氨基酸、其编码蛋白的相对分子质量为8 560,等电点为6.56.同源性比较发现,棉铃虫泛素基因与其他真核生物泛素基因在氨基酸水平上具有96%以上的相似性,而与棉铃虫核多角体病毒泛素的相似性为76%,所有已知的泛素关键功能位点在该泛素蛋白中均保守存在.     

Cytological mechanisms of interspecific incrossability and hybrid sterility between Oryza sativa L. and O. alta Swallen

Oryza sativa and O. alta belong to AA and CCDD genomes in Oryza, respectively. Interspecific repro-ductive isolation limits the transfer of favorable genes from O. alta into O. sativa. The cytological mechanisms of interspecific incrossability and hybrid sterility between O. sativa and O. alta were studied systematically in this paper. We indentified two cytological causes of interspecific incrossabil-ity. First, we observed embryo sac incompatibility that caused fertilization barriers of variable severity such as non-fertilization, fertilization stagnation and egg cell single-fertilization. Second, we observed hybrid inviability, the major cause for incrossability, apparent from hybrid embryo developmental stagnation and embryo abortion. Hybrid sterility included both embryo sac sterility and pollen sterility. The hybrid embryo sac was completely sterile and exhibited mainly embryo sac degeneration. Hybrid pollen was also sterile and mainly typical abortive. Hybrid sterility was mainly caused by severely ab-normal meioses of megasporocytes and pollen mother cells; it is the most important abnormality, being chromosome sterility. Several methods are suggested to overcome the interspecific reproductive iso-lation between O. sativa and O. alta.     

Engineering evolution to study speciation in yeasts

The Saccharomyces 'sensu stricto' yeasts are a group of species that will mate with one another, but interspecific pairings produce sterile hybrids. A retrospective analysis of their genomes revealed that translocations between the chromosomes of these species do not correlate with the group's sequence-based phylogeny (that is, translocations do not drive the process of speciation). However, that analysis was unable to infer what contribution such rearrangements make to reproductive isolation between these organisms. Here, we report experiments that take an interventionist, rather than a retrospective approach to studying speciation, by reconfiguring the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome so that it is collinear with that of Saccharomyces mikatae. We demonstrate that this imposed genomic collinearity allows the generation of interspecific hybrids that produce a large proportion of spores that are viable, but extensively aneuploid. We obtained similar results in crosses between wild-type S. cerevisiae and the naturally collinear species Saccharomyces paradoxus, but not with non-collinear crosses. This controlled comparison of the effect of chromosomal translocation on species barriers suggests a mechanism for the generation of redundancy in the S. cerevisiae genome.     

On the origin of species by sympatric speciation.

Understanding speciation is a fundamental biological problem. It is believed that many species originated through allopatric divergence, where new species arise from geographically isolated populations of the same ancestral species. In contrast, the possibility of sympatric speciation (in which new species arise without geographical isolation) has often been dismissed, partly because of theoretical difficulties. Most previous models analysing sympatric speciation concentrated on particular aspects of the problem while neglecting others. Here we present a model that integrates a novel combination of different features and show that sympatric speciation is a likely outcome of competition for resources. We use multilocus genetics to describe sexual reproduction in an individual-based model, and we consider the evolution of assortative mating (where individuals mate preferentially with like individuals) depending either on an ecological character affecting resource use or on a selectively neutral marker trait. In both cases, evolution of assortative mating often leads to reproductive isolation between ecologically diverging subpopulations. When assortative mating depends on a marker trait, and is therefore not directly linked to resource competition, speciation occurs when genetic drift breaks the linkage equilibrium between the marker and the ecological trait. Our theory conforms well with mounting empirical evidence for the sympatric origin of many species.     

Adaptive evolution drives divergence of a hybrid inviability gene between two species of Drosophila

Speciation--the splitting of one species into two--occurs by the evolution of any of several forms of reproductive isolation between taxa, including the intrinsic sterility and inviability of hybrids. Abundant evidence shows that these hybrid fitness problems are caused by incompatible interactions between loci: new alleles that become established in one species are sometimes functionally incompatible with alleles at interacting loci from another species. However, almost nothing is known about the genes involved in such hybrid incompatibilities or the evolutionary forces that drive their divergence. Here we identify a gene that causes epistatic inviability in hybrids between two fruitfly species, Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Our population genetic analysis reveals that this gene--which encodes a nuclear pore protein--evolved by positive natural selection in both species' lineages. These results show that a lethal hybrid incompatibility has evolved as a by-product of adaptive protein evolution.     

自然杂交对植物物种生存进化的影响

自然杂交是一个常见现象,人类活动正加速自然杂交的发生,人类干扰导致的非自然的杂交过程对物种的生存、进化产生许多负面影响,本文根据文献对近年来自然杂交方面的研究进行了综述。自然杂交不仅影响着物种的生存、进化,也对物种的保护问题带来许多理论上与实践上的挑战。杂交与遗传渗入有利于提高物种的遗传多样性,为物种的进化提供原材料。遗传渗入有利于增加物种的适应性变异,甚至导致新的生态型、新物种的产生。但另一方面当小种群与大种群发生杂交时,小种群很易受遗传同化的影响而灭绝。自然杂交对生物学物种概念提出了挑战,自然杂交往往模糊种间边界,形成分类学及系统发育研究中的困难类群。自然杂交能通过强化种间生殖隔离机制来促进类群间的进化趋异,也能导致种间生殖隔离机制的崩溃,引起物种的融合而降低生物多样性。文章认为在当前生物入侵、物种灭绝加速的情况下,人们需要关注在什么条件下隔离机制被打破导致杂交的发生、遗传渗入形成机制以及如何采取有效措施防止杂交及遗传渗入对物种遗传多样性的影响。     

棉铃虫滞育解除的相关基因鉴定

运用差异显示PCR(DD-PCR)方法分析棉铃虫滞育解除蛹差异表达的基因,结果得到了56个差异片段.通过RT-PCR和Real-time PCR的方法,鉴定了滞育解除过程中有3个基因表达量在下调,有4个基因表达量在上调.这7个差异表达基因中有3个和已知的基因有较高的同源性:FKBP12,esr16和NADH dehydrogenase 1 alpha subcomplex subunit 6.这些差异基因为今后研究滞育解除的分子机制提供了新的线索.     

Reinforcement of pre-zygotic isolation and karyotype evolution in Agrodiaetus butterflies

The reinforcement model of evolution argues that natural selection enhances pre-zygotic isolation between divergent populations or species by selecting against unfit hybrids or costly interspecific matings. Reinforcement is distinguished from other models that consider the formation of reproductive isolation to be a by-product of divergent evolution. Although theory has shown that reinforcement is a possible mechanism that can lead to speciation, empirical evidence has been sufficiently scarce to raise doubts about the importance of reinforcement in nature. Agrodiaetus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) exhibit unusual variability in chromosome number. Whereas their genitalia and other morphological characteristics are largely uniform, different species vary considerably in male wing colour, and provide a model system to study the role of reinforcement in speciation. Using comparative phylogenetic methods, we show that the sympatric distribution of 15 relatively young sister taxa of Agrodiaetus strongly correlates with differences in male wing colour, and that this pattern is most likely the result of reinforcement. We find little evidence supporting sympatric speciation: rather, in Agrodiaetus, karyotypic changes accumulate gradually in allopatry, prompting reinforcement when karyotypically divergent races come into contact.     

The nature of plant species

Many botanists doubt the existence of plant species, viewing them as arbitrary constructs of the human mind, as opposed to discrete, objective entities that represent reproductively independent lineages or 'units of evolution'. However, the discreteness of plant species and their correspondence with reproductive communities have not been tested quantitatively, allowing zoologists to argue that botanists have been overly influenced by a few 'botanical horror stories', such as dandelions, blackberries and oaks. Here we analyse phenetic and/or crossing relationships in over 400 genera of plants and animals. We show that although discrete phenotypic clusters exist in most genera (> 80%), the correspondence of taxonomic species to these clusters is poor (< 60%) and no different between plants and animals. Lack of congruence is caused by polyploidy, asexual reproduction and over-differentiation by taxonomists, but not by contemporary hybridization. Nonetheless, crossability data indicate that 70% of taxonomic species and 75% of phenotypic clusters in plants correspond to reproductively independent lineages (as measured by postmating isolation), and thus represent biologically real entities. Contrary to conventional wisdom, plant species are more likely than animal species to represent reproductively independent lineages.     

棉铃虫性信息素合成激活肽基因的检测

性信息素合成激活肽是调节昆虫性信息素合成的神经肽．根据昆虫性信息素合成激活肽的氨基酸序列保守性,合成若干引物,以棉铃虫基因组ＤＮＡ为模板,用ＰＣＲ方法得到单一的扩增条带．ＲＴＰＣＲ方法从棉铃虫咽下神经结中检测出性信息素合成激活肽基因在棉铃虫基因组中不仅存在,而且表达．     

Synthesis dynamic and developmental profile of prothoracicotropic hormone between diapause-and nondiapause-destined individuals in Helicoverpa armigera

Biosynthesis and secretion of prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) of diapause-and nondiapause-destined individuals in Helicoverpa armigera were studied using whole-mount immunocytochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The immunocytochemistry revealed that PTTH is expressed in two pairs of lateral neurosecretory cells of the brain. The presence of immunoreactivity has not significant difference between the brains of the diapause-and nondiapause-destined 6th instar larvae. However,the obvious differences of expressional pattern from day 4 pupae were observed be-tween the two types. PTTH titers in hemolymph from the 6th instar larvae to pharate adults were measured by the ELISA. Although there were similar titer changes between the two types of individuals at the larval stage,a significant difference from developmental expression was detected at the pupal stage,suggesting that the expression and secretion of PTTH does play a crucial role in regulation of pupal diapause of H. armigera.     

棉铃虫幼虫蜕皮过程及RH-5992对其蜕皮的影响

用透射电镜技术研究了棉铃虫4龄幼虫在蜕皮过程中表皮层及皮细胞的变化，同时用含蜕皮激素类杀虫剂RH－5992的饲料饲喂4龄幼虫，导致其产生早熟，异常的致死蜕皮，在超微结构水平比较了正常蜕皮和RH－5992对皮细胞和新表皮形成的影响。     

Reconstruction of HaSNPV with helicoverpa hormone receptor 3

In order to develop a more efficient virus for controlling the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera, Helicoverpa hormone receptor 3 （HHR3）, which is involved in the ecdysteroid regulatory pathway, was used to genetically modify wild HaSNPV. HaSNPV-HHR3 budded virus and occlusion body virus were constructed in three steps： preparation of pFastBacHaPhpP10-HHR3 donor plasmid, transposition of HHR3 into the HaBacHZ8 bacmid, and transfection of HzAM1 cells to get HaSNPV-HHR3 virus.HHR3 was proved to be expressed in the HaSNPV-HHR3 virus infected HzAM1 cells by immunoblotting. Results of bioassay indicated that the body weight of the HaSNPV-HHR3 infected larvae was lower than the larvae infected with wild virus and uninfected normal larvae, which suggests that HaSNPV-HHR3 delayed larval growth.     

Difference in metapopulation structure and dynamics of two species of coexistent melitaeine butterflies

Habitat fragmentation has been considered to be the most important cause of the extinction and the loss of bio-diversity[1,2]. With the increase of human activities in re-cent years, natural habitat decreased rapidly and patches became smaller and more isolated[3,4]. This leads to an obvious change of population structure and dynamics of many species. However, some species may persist as metapopulations in seriously fragmented landscapes[5]. Metapopulation theory and methodology is estab-lish…     

杜鹃花繁殖生物学研究进展

对杜鹃花孢粉学、繁育系统及传粉生物学方面的研究进展进行了分析,提出杜鹃花属植物繁殖生物学未来的研究可以主要从以下几个方面开展：（1）探讨杜鹃花属孢粉学线形结构的花粉呈现的进化意义;（2）在中国喜马拉雅地区,研究不同地点的相同物种和不同物种繁育系统,分析杜鹃花繁育系统多样性的相关因子,了解传粉系统及传粉昆虫的多样性,揭示杜鹃花属的传粉者特点;（3）选取合适的基因片段,重建杜鹃花属的系统,通过系统树找出可能是杂交起源的种类,纠正经典分类学在杜鹃花属系统位置构建方面的偏差;（4）对比不同杂交群体的繁殖生物学特性,找出传粉昆虫对不同亲本和杂交个体施加选择压力的差别,明确在物种的杂交形成过程中传粉昆虫对生殖隔离的选择作用。