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21 results for “Onthophagus taurus”
Metagenomes and metagenome-assembled genomes from Onthophagus taurus
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Rapid differentiation of plasticity in life history and morphology during invasive range expansion and concurrent local adaptation in the horned beetle Onthophagus taurus
<p>Understanding the interplay between genetic differentiation, ancestral plasticity, and the evolution of plasticity during adaptation to environmental variation is critical to predict populations' responses to environmental change. However, the role of plasticity in rapid adaptation in nature remains poorly understood. We here use the invasion of the horned beetle <i>Onthophagus taurus</i> in the United States during the last half century to study the contribution of ancestral plasticity and post-invasion evolution of plastic responses in rapid population differentiation. We document latitudinal variation in life history and morphology, including genetic compensation in development time and body size, likely adaptive responses to seasonal constraints in the North. However, clinal variation in development time and size was strongly dependent on rearing temperature, suggesting that population differentiation in plasticity played a critical role in successful adaptation on ecological timescales. Clinal variation in wing shape was independent of ancestral plasticity, but correlated with derived plasticity, consistent with evolutionary interdependence. In contrast, clinal variation in tibia shape aligned poorly with thermal plasticity. Overall, this study suggests that post-invasion evolution of plasticity contributed to range expansions and concurrent adaptation to novel climatic conditions.</p>
Data from: Resource allocation during ontogeny is influenced by genetic, developmental, and ecological factors in the horned beetle, Onthophagus taurus
Resource allocation trade-offs arise when developing organs are in competition for a limited pool of resources to sustain growth and differentiation. Such competition may constrain the maximal size to which structures can grow and may force a situation in which the evolutionary elaboration of one structure may only be possible at the expense of another. However, recent studies have called into question both the consistency and evolutionary importance of resource allocation trade-offs. This study focuses on a well-described trade-off between the horns and eyes of Onthophagus beetles and assesses the degree to which it is influenced by genetic, developmental and ecological conditions. Contrary to expectations, we observed that trade-off signatures (i) were mostly absent within natural populations, (ii) mostly failed to match naturally evolved divergences in horn investment among populations, (iii) were subject to differential changes in F1 populations derived from divergent field populations and (iv) remained largely unaffected by developmental genetic manipulations of horn investment. Collectively, our results demonstrate that populations subject to different ecological conditions exhibit different patterns of, and differential plasticity in, resource allocation. Further, variation in ecological conditions, rather than canalized developmental mechanisms, may determine whether and to what degree morphological structures engage in resource allocation trade-offs.
Data from: Intralocus tactical conflict: genetic correlations between fighters and sneakers of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
Males and females differ in their phenotypic optima for many traits, and since the majority of genes are expressed in both sexes, some alleles can be beneficial to one sex but harmful to the other (intralocus sexual conflict; ISC). ISC theory has recently been extended to intrasexual dimorphisms, where certain alleles may have opposite effects on the fitness of males of different morphs that employ alternative reproductive tactics (intralocus tactical conflict; ITC). Here we use a half-sib breeding design to investigate the genetic basis for ISC and ITC in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus. We found positive heritabilities and intersexual genetic correlations for almost all traits investigated. Next, we calculated the intrasexual genetic correlation between males of different morphs for horn length, a sexually selected trait, and compared it to intrasexual correlations for naturally selected traits in both sexes. Intrasexual genetic correlations did not differ significantly between the sexes or between naturally and sexually selected traits, failing to support the hypothesis that horns present a reduction of intrasexual genetic correlations due to ITC. We discuss the implications for the idea of developmental reprogramming between male morphs, and emphasize the importance of genetic correlations as constraints for the evolution of dimorphisms.
Fig. 1 in Westward Expansion of Onthophagus taurus (Schreber) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Current Distribution of a Non-Native Species
Fig. 1. Current distribution of the non-native species Onthophagus taurus in the continental US (as of January 2024). Dark gray indicates states in which O. taurus was recorded previously, light gray indicates states with new records, and white indicates states with no records. The star represents the new state record described herein; dots represent records in previously unrecorded states. Previous records were compiled from Floate et al. (2017) and Bezanson and Floate (2019). Bezanson and Floate (2019) included states where O. taurus was recorded and states considered suitable for establishment based on climate analysis. States that were listed as suitable for establishment but lacked verified records in Bezanson and Floate (2019) were not considered states in which O. taurus was recorded previously. New state records (those not included in Bezanson and Floate 2019 or Floate et al. 2017) were compiled from data publicly available on GBIF (2024), observations on BugGuide (2024) and iNaturalist (2024), Gigliotti et al. (2019), Smith (1997), and personal communication (E. L. McCullough, September 2023). When coordinates were not available from the original data source, the geographic center of known locations (county records, island records, parks) was used. Only records with supporting images that accurately depicted O. taurus were considered for inclusion from iNaturalist and BugGuide. net. Supplemental data are available at https://bit.ly/3rKgAuI. Map developed using SimpleMappr (Shorthouse 2010).
Evolution and plasticity of morph-specific integration in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
Developmental and evolutionary processes underlying phenotypic variation frequently target several traits simultaneously, thereby causing covariation, or integration, among phenotypes. While phenotypic integration can be neutral, correlational selection can drive adaptive covariation. Especially the evolution and development of exaggerated secondary sexual traits may require the adjustment of other traits that support, compensate for, or otherwise function in a concerted manner. Although phenotypic integration is ubiquitous, the interplay between genetic, developmental, and ecological conditions in shaping integration and its evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we study the evolution and plasticity of trait integration in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus which is characterized by the polyphenic expression of horned ('major') and hornless ('minor') male morphs. By comparing populations subject to divergent intensities of mate competition we tested whether mating system shifts affect integration of traits predicted to function in a morph-specific manner. We focussed on fore and hind tibia morphology as these appendages are used to stabilize major males during fights, and on wings, as they are thought to contribute to morph-based differences in dispersal behaviour. We found phenotypic integration between fore and hind tibia length and horn length that was stronger in major males, suggesting phenotypic plasticity in integration and potentially secondary sexual trait compensation. Similarly, we observed that fore tibia shape was also integrated with relative horn length. However, although we found population differentiation in wing and tibia shape and allometry, populations did not differ in integration. Lastly, we detected little evidence for morph differences in integration in either tibia or wing shape, although wing allometries differed between morphs. This contrasts with previous studies documenting intraspecific differentiation in morphology, behaviour and allometry as a response to varying levels of mate competition across O. taurus populations. We discuss how sexual selection may shape morph-specific integration, compensation and allometry across populations.
Evolution and plasticity of morph-specific integration in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Data from: Intralocus tactical conflict: genetic correlations between fighters and sneakers of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Data from: Resource allocation during ontogeny is influenced by genetic, developmental, and ecological factors in the horned beetle, Onthophagus taurus
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Rapid differentiation of plasticity in life history and morphology during invasive range expansion and concurrent local adaptation in the horned beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Data from: Insulin signaling's role in mediating tissue-specific nutritional plasticity and robustness in the horn-polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus
Organisms cope with nutritional variation via developmental plasticity, adjusting trait size to nutrient availability for some traits while enabling others to develop in a nutritionally robust manner. Yet, the developmental mechanisms that regulate organ-specific growth across nutritional gradients remain poorly understood. We assessed the functions of members of the insulin/insulin-like signaling pathway (IIS) in the regulation of nutrition sensitivity and robustness in males of the horn-polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus, as well as potential regulatory interactions between IIS and two other growth-regulating pathways: Doublesex and Hedgehog signaling. Using RNA interference (RNAi) we experimentally knocked down both insulin receptors (InR1, InR2) and Foxo, a growth inhibitor. We then performed morphometric measurements on horns, a highly nutrition-sensitive trait, and genitalia, a largely nutrition-insensitive trait. Finally, we used qRT-PCR to assess expression levels of Doublesex and the Hedgehog-signaling gene smoothened following IIS-RNAi. Our results suggest that nutrition responsiveness of both traits is regulated by different IIS components, which transduce nutritional conditions to both Doublesex and Hedgehog pathways, albeit via different IIS pathway members. Combined with previous studies our findings suggest that separate origins of trait exaggeration among insect lineages were enabled through the independent cooption of IIS, yet via reliance on different components therein.
Data from: Brood ball-mediated transmission of microbiome members in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Insects feeding on plant sap, blood, and other nutritionally incomplete diets are typically associated with mutualistic bacteria that supplement missing nutrients. Herbivorous mammal dung contains more than 86% cellulose and lacks amino acids essential for insect development and reproduction. Yet one of the most ecologically necessary and evolutionarily successful groups of beetles, the dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) feeds primarily, or exclusively, on dung. These associations suggest that dung beetles may benefit from mutualistic bacteria that provide nutrients missing from dung. The nesting behaviors of the female parent and the feeding behaviors of the larvae suggest that a microbiome could be vertically transmitted from the parental female to her offspring through the brood ball. Using sterile rearing and a combination of molecular and culture-based techniques, we examine transmission of the microbiome in the bull-headed dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. Beetles were reared on autoclaved dung and the microbiome was characterized across development. A ~1425 bp region of the 16S rRNA identified Pseudomonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Comamonadaceae as the most common bacterial families across all life stages and populations, including cultured isolates from the 3rd instar digestive system. Finer level phylotyping analyses based on lepA and gyrB amplicons of cultured isolates placed the isolates closest to Enterobacter cloacae, Providencia stuartii, Pusillimonas sp., Pedobacter heparinus, and Lysinibacillus sphaericus. Scanning electron micrographs of brood balls constructed from sterile dung reveals secretions and microbes only in the chamber the female prepares for the egg. The use of autoclaved dung for rearing, the presence of microbes in the brood ball and offspring, and identical 16S rRNA sequences in both parent and offspring suggests that the O. taurus female parent transmits specific microbiome members to her offspring through the brood chamber. The transmission of the dung beetle microbiome highlights the maintenance and likely importance of this newly-characterized bacterial community.
Data from: The nutritionally responsive transcriptome of the polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus and the importance of sexual dimorphism and body region
Developmental responses to nutritional variation represent one of the ecologically most important classes of adaptive plasticity. However, knowledge of genome-wide patterns of nutrition-responsive gene expression is limited. Here, we studied genome-wide transcriptional responses to nutritional variation and their dependency on trait and sex in the beetle Onthophagus taurus. We find that averaged across the transcriptome, nutrition contributes less to overall variation in gene expression than do sex or body region, but that for a modest subset of genes nutrition is by far the most important determinant of expression variation. Furthermore, our results reject the hypothesis that a common machinery may underlie nutrition-sensitive development across body regions. Instead, we find that magnitude (measured by number of differentially expressed contigs), composition (measured by functional enrichment) and evolutionary consequences (measured by patterns of sequence variation) are heavily dependent on exactly which body region is considered and the degree of sexual dimorphism observed on a morphological level. More generally, our findings illustrate that studies into the developmental mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of nutrition-biased gene expression must take into account the dynamics and complexities imposed by other sources of variation in gene expression such as sexual dimorphism and trait type.
Don't stand so close to me: microbiota-facilitated enemy release dynamics in introduced Onthophagus taurus dung beetles.
<p>Microbial symbionts can influence their hosts in stunningly diverse ways. Emerging research suggests that an underappreciated facet of these relationships is the influence microbes can have on their host's responses to novel, or stressful, environmental conditions. We sought to address these and related questions in populations resulting from the recent introduction and subsequent rapid range expansion of <i>Onthophagus taurus</i> dung beetles. Specifically, we manipulated both microbial communities and rearing temperature to detect signatures of developmental and life history differentiation in response to the local thermal conditions in two populations derived from the southern-most (Florida) and northern-most (Michigan) extremes of the exotic Eastern U.S. range of <i>O. taurus</i>. We then sought to determine the contributions, if any, of host-associated microbiota to this differentiation. We found that when reared under common garden conditions individuals from Florida and Michigan populations differed significantly in developmental performance measures and life history traits, consistent with population divergence. At the same time, and contrary to our predictions, we failed to find support for the hypothesis that animals perform better if reared at temperatures that match their location of origin, and that performance differences may be mediated by host-associated microbiota. Instead, we found that microbiome swapping across host populations improved developmental performance in both populations, consistent with enemy release dynamics. We discuss the implications of our results for our understanding of the rapid spread of exotic <i>O. taurus </i>through the Eastern US, and the significance of symbiosis in host responses to novel environmental conditions more broadly.</p>
Data from: Experimental evidence for the role of sexual selection in the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus
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Data from: Brood ball-mediated transmission of microbiome members in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
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Data from: Insulin signaling’s role in mediating tissue-specific nutritional plasticity and robustness in the horn-polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Don’t stand so close to me: microbiota-facilitated enemy release dynamics in introduced Onthophagus taurus dung beetles.
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Data from: The nutritionally responsive transcriptome of the polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus and the importance of sexual dimorphism and body region
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Gene expression patterns in the horned beetles Onthophagus taurus responding to nutritional variation
GEO Series GSE58496. Onthophagus taurus. 48 samples. Type: Expression profiling by array.
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