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1,737 results for “host data”
Data from: Bottom-up effects of host-plant species diversity and top-down effects of ants interactively increase plant performance
While plant diversity is well known to increase primary productivity, whether these bottom-up effects are enhanced by reciprocal top-down effects from the third trophic level is unknown. We studied whether pine tree species diversity, aphid-tending ants and their interaction determined plant performance and arthropod community structure. Plant diversity had a positive effect on aphids, but only in the presence of mutualistic ants, leading to threefold greater number of both groups in the tri-specific cultures than in monocultures. Plant diversity increased ant abundance not only by increasing aphid number, but also by increasing ant recruitment per aphid. The positive effect of diversity on ants in turn cascaded down to increase plant performance; diversity increased plant growth (but not biomass), and this effect was stronger in the presence of ants. Consequently, bottom-up effects of diversity within the same genus and guild of plants and top-down effects from the third trophic level (predatory ants) interactively increased plant performance.
Data from: Divergent effects of forest edges on host distribution and seed disperser activity influence mistletoe distribution and recruitment
1. Species interactions define functional diversity and community stability across ecosystems, and depend on the spatial distribution, the habitat requirements, and the sensitivity to disturbances of all interacting partners. Hence, assessing the effects of such anthropogenic disturbances on multi-species interactions may be essential to improve adaptation and mitigation measures for biodiversity conservation. 2. We determined the importance of edge effects on the interaction and distribution of three keystone species in South American temperate rainforests: the hemiparasitic mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus, its main host (the liana Campsidium valdivianum) and its only seed disperser (the marsupial Dromiciops gliroides). 3. The discordant impacts of forest edges on host (positive) and seed disperser (negative) affected mistletoe distribution at large spatial scales, owing to the combined effects of increased dispersal limitation and decreased host availability. More importantly, marsupial abundance had contrasting effects on mistletoe abundance at small and large spatial scales – suggesting a potential trade-off between local and long-distance dispersal. 4. We found the number of adult mistletoes per host increased with host size, which likely indicates that mistletoe colonization accumulated over the host's life-span. However, the number of juveniles found per host peaked at medium-sized hosts, increased with marsupial abundance and host availability and showed a negligible response to edges. 5. Synthesis: The lack of spatial congruence between host and seed disperser probably explains the scarcity of mistletoes in the study area, although the discordant drivers of juvenile and adult distributions suggest that there is a trade-off between recruitment patterns but also potential dispersal limitation at small scales. In essence, the interdependence among species linked by (mutualistic and antagonistic) interactions makes them more sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance, exacerbating its impact on the diversity and functioning of forest ecosystems.
Data from: Survival relative to new and ancestral host plants, phytoplasma infection and genetic constitution in host races of a polyphagous insect disease vector
Dissemination of vectorborne diseases depends strongly on the vector's host range and the pathogen's reservoir range. Because vectors interact with pathogens, the direction and strength of a vector's host shift is vital for understanding epidemiology and is embedded in the framework of ecological specialization. This study investigates survival in host-race evolution of a polyphagous insect disease vector, Hyalesthes obsoletus, whether survival is related to the direction of the host shift (from field bindweed to stinging nettle), the interaction with plant-specific strains of obligate vectored pathogens/symbionts (stolbur phytoplasma), and whether survival is related to genetic differentiation between the host races. We used a twice repeated, identical nested experimental design to study survival of the vector on alternative hosts and relative to infection status. Survival was tested with Kaplan–Meier analyses, while genetic differentiation between vector populations was quantified with microsatellite allele frequencies. We found significant direct effects of host plant (reduced survival on wrong hosts) and sex (males survive longer than females) in both host races and relative effects of host (nettle animals more affected than bindweed animals) and sex (males more affected than females). Survival of bindweed animals was significantly higher on symptomatic than nonsymptomatic field bindweed, but in the second experiment only. Infection potentially had a positive effect on survival in nettle animals but due to low infection rates the results remain suggestive. Genetic differentiation was not related to survival. Greater negative plant-transfer effect but no negative effect of stolbur in the derived host race suggests preadaptation to the new pathogen/symbiont strain before strong diversifying selection during the specialization process. Physiological maladaptation or failure to accept the ancestral plant will have similar consequences, namely positive assortative mating within host races and a reduction in the likelihood of oviposition on the alternative plant and thus the acquisition of alternative stolbur strains.
Data from: Molecular detection of trophic links in a complex insect host-parasitoid food web
Previously, host-parasitoid links have been unveiled almost exclusively by time-intensive rearing, while molecular methods were used only in simple agricultural host-parasitoid systems in the form of species specific primers. Here we present a general method for molecular detection of these links applied to a complex caterpillar-parasitoid food web from tropical rainforest of Papua New Guinea. We DNA barcoded hosts, parasitoids and their tissue remnants and matched the sequences to our extensive library of local species. We were thus able to match 87% of host sequences and 36% of parasitoid sequences to species, and infer subfamily or family in almost all cases. Our analysis affirmed 93 hitherto unknown trophic links between 37 host species from a wide range of Lepidoptera families and 46 parasitoid species from Hymenoptera and Diptera by identifying DNA sequences for both the host and the parasitoid involved in the interaction. Molecular detection proved especially useful in cases where distinguishing host species in caterpillar stage was difficult morphologically, or when the caterpillar died during rearing. We have even detected a case of extreme parasitoid specialization in a pair of Choreutis species which do not differ in caterpillar morphology and ecology. Using the molecular approach outlined here leads to better understanding of parasitoid host specificity, opens new possibilities for rapid surveys of food web structure and allows inference of species associations not already anticipated.
Data from: Host-specific effects of soil microbial filtrates prevail over those of arbuscular mycorrhizae in a fragmented landscape
Plant-soil interactions have been shown to determine plant community composition in a wide range of environments. However, how plants distinctly interact with beneficial and detrimental organisms across mosaic landscapes containing fragmented habitats is still poorly understood. We experimentally tested feedback responses between plants and soil microbial communities from adjacent habitats across a disturbance gradient within a human-modified tropical montane landscape. In a greenhouse experiment, two components of soil microbial communities were amplified; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and a filtrate excluding AMF spores from the soils of pastures (high disturbance), coffee plantations (intermediate disturbance), and forest fragments (low disturbance), using potted seedlings of 11 plant species common in these habitats (pasture grass, coffee, and 9 native species). We then examined their effects on growth of these same 11 host species with reciprocal habitat inoculation. Most plant species received a similar benefit from AMF, but differed in their response to the filtrates from the three habitats. Soil filtrate from pastures had a net negative effect on plant growth, while filtrates from coffee plantations and forests had a net positive effect on plant growth. Pasture grass, coffee and five pioneer tree species performed better with the filtrate from "away" (where these species rarely occur) compared to "home" (where these species typically occur) habitat soils, while four shade tolerant tree species grew similarly with filtrates from different habitats. These results suggest that pastures accumulate species-specific soil enemies, while coffee plantations and forests accumulate beneficial soil microbes that benefit pioneer native plants and coffee, respectively. Thus, compared to AMF, soil filtrates exerted stronger habitat and host-specific effects on plants, being more important mediators of plant-soil feedbacks across contrasting habitats.
Data from: When viruses don't go viral: the importance of host phylogeographic structure in the spatial spread of arenaviruses
Many emerging infections are RNA virus spillovers from animal reservoirs. Reservoir identification is necessary for predicting the geographic extent of infection risk, but rarely are taxonomic levels below the animal species considered as reservoir, and only key circumstances in nature and methodology allow intrinsic virus-host associations to be distinguished from simple geographic (co-)isolation. We sampled and genetically characterized in detail a contact zone of two subtaxa of the rodent Mastomys natalensis in Tanzania. We find two distinct arenaviruses, Gairo and Morogoro virus, each spatially confined to a single M. natalensis subtaxon, only co-occurring at the contact zone's centre. Inter-subtaxon hybridization at this centre and a continuum of quality habitat for M. natalensis show that both viruses have the ecological opportunity to spread into the other substaxon's range, but do not, strongly suggesting host-intrinsic barriers. Such barriers could explain why human cases of another M. natalensis-borne arenavirus, Lassa virus, are limited to West Africa.
Data from: Differential responses to related hosts by nesting and non-nesting parasites in a brood-parasitic duck
Host-parasite relatedness may facilitate the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism (CBP), but empirical support for this contention remains inconclusive. One reason for this disparity may relate to the diversity of parasitic tactics, a key distinguishing feature being whether the parasite has a nest of her own. Previous work suggests that parasites without nests of their own may be of inferior phenotypic quality, but due to difficulties in identifying these parasitic individuals, little is known about their host selection criteria. We used high-resolution molecular maternity tests to assign parasitic offspring to known parasites with and without their own nests in a population of Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica). We determined whether parasite nesting status, host-parasite relatedness, and distance between host and parasite nests affected the probability of parasitizing a host and the number of eggs laid per host. We also investigated whether nesting parasites, conventionally nesting females and non-nesting parasites differed regarding their age, structural size, body condition, nesting phenology or total brood size. The probability of engaging in parasitism increased with host-parasite relatedness and spatial proximity to host nests for nesting and non-nesting females alike. However, nesting parasites increased the number of eggs donated with relatedness to the host, while non-nesting parasites did not do so. Non-nesting parasites laid fewer eggs in total, but did not differ by any of the other quality measures from conventional nesters or nesting parasites. Our study provides the first demonstration that nesting and non-nesting parasites from the same population may use different host selection criteria.
Data from: Host responses to foreign eggs across the avian visual color space
Despite extensive research on the sensory and cognitive processes of host rejection of avian brood parasites' eggs, the underlying perceptual and cognitive mechanisms are not sufficiently understood. Historically, most studies of host egg discrimination assumed that hosts rejected a parasite's egg from their nest based on the total perceived color differences between the parasite's egg and their own. A recent study used a continuous range of parasitic egg colors and discovered that hosts were more likely to reject browner parasitic eggs than parasitic eggs that were more blue-green, even when their absolute perceived color differences from the hosts' own egg colors were similar. However, the extent of these color biases within the avian perceivable color space remains unclear. Therefore, we built upon this previous study by testing European blackbirds' (Turdus merula) responses to model eggs spanning an unprecedented volume of the avian color space. We found that host decisions depended on avian perceived hue, saturation, and luminance of the parasite's egg; hosts generally accepted eggs that were bluer or more blue-green, and more often rejected eggs that were less saturated or darker. We suggest that future studies investigate the underlying mechanism of foreign egg discrimination in other host lineages to determine the prevalence and phylogenetic conservation of such perceptual biases among birds.
Data from: Exploring Symbiodinium diversity and host specificity in Acropora corals from geographical extremes of Western Australia with 454 amplicon pyrosequencing
Scleractinian corals have demonstrated the ability to shuffle their endosymbiotic dinoflagellate communities (genus Symbiodinium) during periods of acute environmental stress. This has been proposed as a mechanism of acclimation, which would be increased by a diverse and flexible association with Symbiodinium. Conventional molecular techniques used to evaluate Symbiodinium diversity lack the sensitivity to capture accurate estimates of diversity and are unable to identify genetic lineages present at background levels below 10%. Next generation sequencing (NGS) offers a solution to this problem and can resolve microorganism diversity at much finer scales. Here we apply NGS to evaluate Symbiodinium diversity and host specificity in Acropora corals from contrasting regions of Western Australia. The application of 454 pyrosequencing allowed for detection of Symbiodinium operational taxonomic units (OTUs) occurring at frequencies as low as 0.001%, offering a 10 000-fold increase in sensitivity compared to traditional methods. All coral species from both regions were overwhelmingly dominated by a single clade C OTU (accounting for 98% of all recovered sequences). Only 8.5% of colonies associated with multiple clades (clades C and D, or C and G), suggesting a high level of symbiont specificity in Acropora assemblages in Western Australia. This contrasts with recent literature that have applied highly-sensitive molecular techniques and identified widespread flexibility in symbiont associations across a number of coral taxa in other geographic regions. While only 40% of the OTUs were shared between regions, the dominance of a single OTU resulted in no significant difference in Symbiodinium community structure, demonstrating that the coral-algal symbiosis can remain stable across more than 15° of latitude and a range of sea surface temperature profiles. This study validates the use of NGS platforms as tools for providing fine-scale estimates of Symbiodinium diversity and can offer critical insight into the flexibility of the coral-algal symbiosis.
Data from: Beyond preference and performance: host plant selection by monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus
The connection between adult preferences and offspring performance is long-standing issue in understanding the evolutionary and ecological forces that dictate host associations and specialization in herbivorous insects. Indeed, decisions made by females about where to lay their eggs have direct consequences for fitness and are influenced by interacting factors including offspring performance, defence, and competition. Nonetheless, in addition to these attributes of the offspring, a female's choices may be affected by her own prior experience. Here we examined oviposition preference, larval performance, and the role of learning in the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, which encounters diverse milkweed host species across its broad range and over the course of migration. Monarch females consistently preferred to oviposit on Asclepias incarnata subspecies pulchra. This plant, however, was associated with poor caterpillar growth, low sequestration of toxins, and the highest plant defences (latex and trichomes). We examined flexibility in this apparently maladaptive preference by testing the impact of previous experience and competition on preference. Experience laying on an alternative plant species enhanced preference for that species in contrast to A. i. pulchra. In addition, presence of a (competing) conspecific caterpillar on A. i. pulchra had a strongly deterrent effect and reversed host plant preferences. Thus, monarch butterflies exhibit preferences contrary to what would be expected based on offspring development and sequestered defences, but their preferences are altered by learning and competition, which may allow butterflies to shift preferences as they encounter diverse milkweeds across the landscape. Learning and perception of threats (i.e., competition or predation) may be critical for most herbivorous insects, which universally experience heterogeneity among their potential host plants.
Data from: Co-occurrence and hybridization of anther-smut pathogens specialized on Dianthus hosts
Host specialization has important consequences for the diversification and ecological interactions of obligate pathogens. The anther-smut disease of natural plant populations, caused by Microbotryum fungi, has been characterized by specialized host-pathogen interactions, which contribute in part to the isolation among these numerous fungal species. This study investigated the molecular variation of Microbotryum pathogens within the geographic and host-specific distributions on wild Dianthus species in southern European Alps. In contrast to prior studies on this pathogen genus, a range of overlapping host specificities was observed for four delineated Microbotryum lineages on Dianthus hosts, and their frequent co-occurrence within single-host populations was quantified at local and regional scales. In addition to potential consequences for direct pathogen competition, the sympatry of Microbotryum lineages led to hybridization between them in many populations, and these admixed genotypes suffered significant meiotic sterility. Therefore, this investigation of the anther-smut fungi reveals how variation in the degrees of host specificity can have major implications for ecological interactions and genetic integrity of differentiated pathogen lineages.
Data from: Gut microbiome composition and metabolomic profiles of wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) reflect host ecology
The metabolic activities of gut microbes significantly influence host physiology; thus, characterizing the forces that modulate this micro-ecosystem is key to understanding mammalian biology and fitness. To investigate the gut microbiome of wild primates and determine how these microbial communities respond to the host's external environment, we characterized faecal bacterial communities and, for the first time, gut metabolomes of four wild lowland gorilla groups in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. Results show that geographical range may be an important modulator of the gut microbiomes and metabolomes of these gorilla groups. Distinctions seemed to relate to feeding behaviour, implying energy harvest through increased fruit consumption or fermentation of highly fibrous foods. These observations were supported by differential abundance of metabolites and bacterial taxa associated with the metabolism of cellulose, phenolics, organic acids, simple sugars, lipids and sterols between gorillas occupying different geographical ranges. Additionally, the gut microbiomes of a gorilla group under increased anthropogenic pressure could always be distinguished from that of all other groups. By characterizing the interplay between environment, behaviour, diet and symbiotic gut microbes, we present an alternative perspective on primate ecology and on the forces that shape the gut microbiomes of wild primates from an evolutionary context.
Data from: Hosts do not simply outsource pathogen resistance to protective symbionts
Microbial symbionts commonly protect their hosts from natural enemies, but it is unclear how protective symbionts influence the evolution of host immunity to pathogens. One possibility is that 'extrinsic' protection provided by symbionts allows hosts to reduce investment in 'intrinsic' immunological resistance mechanisms. We tested this idea using pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and their facultative bacterial symbionts that increase host resistance to the fungal pathogen Pandora neoaphidis. The pea aphid taxon is composed of multiple host plant associated populations called biotypes, which harbour characteristic communities of symbionts. We found that biotypes that more frequently carry protective symbionts have higher, rather than lower, levels of intrinsic resistance. Within a biotype there was no difference in intrinsic resistance between clones that did and did not carry a protective symbiont. The host plant on which an aphid feeds did not strongly influence intrinsic resistance. We describe a simple conceptual model of the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic resistance and suggest that our results may be explained by selection favouring both the acquisition of protective symbionts and enhanced intrinsic resistance in habitats with high pathogen pressure. Such combined protection is potentially more robust than intrinsic resistance alone.
Data from: Persistence, impacts and environmental drivers of covert infections in invertebrate hosts
Background: Persistent covert infections of the myxozoan, Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, in primary invertebrate hosts (the freshwater bryozoan, Fredericella sultana) have been proposed to represent a reservoir for proliferative kidney disease in secondary fish hosts. However, we have limited understanding of how covert infections persist and vary in bryozoan populations over time and space and how they may impact these populations. In addition, previous studies have likely underestimated covert infection prevalence. To improve our understanding of the dynamics, impacts and implications of covert infections we employed a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and undertook the first investigation of covert infections in the field over an annual period by sampling bryozoans every 45 days from three populations within each of three rivers. Results: Covert infections persisted throughout the year and prevalence varied within and between rivers, but were often > 50%. Variation in temperature and water chemistry were linked with changes in prevalence in a manner consistent with the maintenance of covert infections during periods of low productivity and thus poor growth conditions for both bryozoans and T. bryosalmonae. The presence and increased severity of covert infections reduced host growth but only when bryozoans were also investing in the production of overwintering propagules (statoblasts). However, because statoblast production is transitory, this effect is unlikely to greatly impact the capacity of bryozoan populations to act as persistent sources of infections and hence potential disease outbreaks in farmed and wild fish populations. Conclusions: We demonstrate that covert infections are widespread and persist over space and time in bryozoan populations. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term study of covert infections in a field setting. Review of the results of this and previous studies enables us to identify key questions related to the ecology and evolution of covert infection strategies and associated host-parasite interactions.
Data from: Rapid change in host specificity in a field population of the biological control organism Pasteuria penetrans
In biological control, populations of both the biological control agent and the pest have the potential to evolve, and even to coevolve. This feature marks the most powerful and unpredictable aspect of biological control strategies. In particular, evolutionary change in host specificity of the biological control agent could increase or decrease its efficacy. Here, we tested for change in host specificity in a field population of the biological control organism Pasteuria penetrans. Pasteuria penetrans is an obligate parasite of the plant parasitic nematodes Meloidogyne spp., which are major agricultural pests. From 2013 through 2016, we collected yearly samples of P. penetrans from eight plots in a field infested with M. arenaria. Plots were planted either with peanut (Arachis hypogaea) or with a rotation of peanut and soybean (Glycine max). To detect temporal change in host specificity, we tested P. penetrans samples annually for their ability to attach to (and thereby infect) four clonal lines of M. arenaria. After controlling for temporal variation in parasite abundance, we found that P. penetrans from each of the eight plots showed temporal variation in their attachment specificity to the clonal host lines. The trajectories of change in host specificity were largely unique to each plot. This result suggests that local forces, at the level of individual plots, drive change in specificity. We hypothesize that coevolution with local M. arenaria hosts may be one such force. Lastly, we observed an overall reduction in attachment using samples from rotation relative to peanut plots. This result may reflect lower abundance of P. penetrans under crop rotation, potentially due to suppressed density of host nematodes. As a whole, the results show local change in specificity on a yearly basis, consistent with evolution of a biological control organism in its ability to infect and suppress its target pest.
Data from: Host-parasitoid evolution in a metacommunity
Patch size and isolation are predicted to alter both species diversity and evolution; yet, there are few empirical examples of eco-evolutionary feedback in metacommunities. We tested three hypotheses about eco-evolutionary feedback in a gall-forming fly, Eurosta solidaginis and two of its natural enemies that select for opposite traits: (i) specialization and poor dispersal ability constrain a subset of natural enemies from occupying small and isolated patches, (ii) this constraint alters selection on the gall fly, causing phenotypic shifts towards traits resistant to generalist and dispersive enemies in small and isolated patches, and (iii) reduced dispersal evolves in small, isolated populations. We sampled patches in a natural metacommunity and found support for all hypotheses; Eurosta's specialist wasp parasitoid attacked fewer galls in small and isolated patches, generating a selection gradient that favoured small galls resistant to predation by a dispersive and generalist bird predator. Phenotype distributions matched this selection gradient, and these phenotypic differences were maintained in a common garden experiment. Finally, we found lower dispersal abilities in small and isolated patches, a phenotypic shift that aids in the maintenance of local adaptation. We suggest that the trophic rank and the species traits of consumers are central to evolution in metacommunities.
Data from: Aphid specialization on different summer hosts is associated with strong genetic differentiation and unequal symbiont communities despite a common mating habitat
Specialization on different host plants can promote evolutionary diversification of herbivorous insects. Work on pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) has contributed significantly to the understanding of this process, demonstrating that populations associated with different host plants exhibit performance trade-offs across hosts, show adaptive host choice and genetic differentiation, and possess different communities of bacterial endosymbionts. Populations specialized on different secondary host plants during the parthenogenetic summer generations are also described for the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae complex) and are usually treated as different (morphologically cryptic) subspecies. In contrast to pea aphids, however, host choice and mate choice are decoupled in black bean aphids, because populations from different summer hosts return to the same primary host plant to mate and lay overwintering eggs. This could counteract evolutionary divergence, and it is currently unknown to what extent black bean aphids using different summer hosts are indeed differentiated. We addressed this question by microsatellite genotyping and endosymbiont screening of black bean aphids collected in summer from the goosefoot Chenopodium album (subspecies A. f. fabae) and from thistles of the genus Cirsium (subspecies A. f. cirsiiacanthoides) across numerous sites in Switzerland and France. Our results show clearly that aphids from Cirsium and Chenopodium show strong and geographically consistent genetic differentiation, and that they differ in their frequencies of infection with particular endosymbionts. The dependence on a joint winter host has thus not prevented the evolutionary divergence into summer host-adapted populations that appear to have evolved mechanisms of reproductive isolation within a common mating habitat.
Data from: Signs of a vector's adaptive choice: on the evasion of infectious hosts and parasite-induced mortality
Laboratory and field experiments have demonstrated in many cases that malaria vectors do not feed randomly, but show important preferences either for infected or non-infected hosts. These preferences are likely in part shaped by the costs imposed by the parasites on both their vertebrate and dipteran hosts. However, the effect of changes in vector behaviour on actual parasite transmission remains a debated issue. We used the natural associations between a malaria-like parasite Polychromophilus murinus, the bat fly Nycteribia kolenatii and a vertebrate host the Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii to test the vector's feeding preference based on the host's infection status using two different approaches: 1) controlled behavioural assays in the laboratory where bat flies could choose between a pair of hosts; 2) natural bat fly abundance data from wild-caught bats, serving as an approximation of realised feeding preference of the bat flies. Hosts with the fewest infectious stages of the parasite were most attractive to the bat flies that did switch in the behavioural assay. In line with the hypothesis of costs imposed by parasites on their vectors, bat flies carrying parasites had higher mortality. However, in wild populations, bat flies were found feeding more based on the bat's body condition, rather than its infection level. Though the absolute frequency of host switches performed by the bat flies during the assays was low, in the context of potential parasite transmission they were extremely high. The decreased survival of infected bat flies suggests that the preference for less infected hosts is an adaptive trait. Nonetheless, other ecological processes ultimately determine the vector's biting rate and thus transmission. Inherent vector preferences therefore play only a marginal role in parasite transmission in the field. The ecological processes rather than preferences per se need to be identified for successful epidemiological predictions.
Data from: The genetic architecture of ecological adaptation: intraspecific variation in host plant use by the lepidopteran crop pest Chloridea virescens
Intraspecific variation in ecologically important traits is a cornerstone of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The evolution and maintenance of this variation depends on genetic architecture, which in turn determines responses to natural selection. Some models suggest that traits with complex architectures are less likely to respond to selection than those with simple architectures, yet rapid divergence has been observed in such traits. The simultaneous evolutionary lability and genetic complexity of host plant use in the Lepidopteran subfamily Heliothinae suggest that architecture may not constrain ecological adaptation in this group. Here we investigate the response of Chloridea virescens, a generalist that feeds on diverse plant species, to selection for performance on a novel host, Physalis angulata (Solanaceae). P. angulata is the preferred host of Chloridea subflexa, a narrow specialist on the genus Physalis. In previous experiments, we found that the performance of C. subflexa on P. angulata depends on many loci of small effect distributed throughout the genome, but whether the same architecture would be involved in the generalist's adoption of P. angulata was unknown. Here we report a rapid response to selection in C. virescens for performance on P. angulata, and establish that the genetic architecture of intraspecific variation is quite similar to that of the interspecific differences in terms of the number, distribution, and effect sizes of the QTL involved. We discuss the impact of genetic architecture on the ability of Heliothine moths to respond to varying ecological selection pressures.
Data from: Host specificity of Symbiodinium variants revealed by an ITS2 metahaplotype approach
Analysis of the widely used ITS region is confounded by the presence of intragenomic variants (IGVs). In Symbiodinium, the algal symbionts of reef building corals, deep-sequencing analyses are used to characterise communities within corals, yet these analyses largely overlook IGVs. Here we consider that distinct ITS2 sequences could represent IGVs rather than distinct symbiont types and argue that symbionts can be distinguished by their proportional composition of IGVs, described as their ITS2 metahaplotype. Using our metahaplotype approach on Minimum Entropy Decomposition (MED) analysis of ITS2 sequences from the corals Acropora downingi, Cyphastrea microphthalma and Playgyra daedalea, we show the dominance of a single species-specific Symbiodinium C3 variant within each coral species. We confirm the presence of these species-specific symbionts using the psbA non-coding region. Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for IGVs in ITS2 analyses and demonstrate their capacity to resolve biological patterns that would otherwise be overlooked.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.