Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism

Abstract Locusts exhibit one of nature’s most spectacular examples of complex phenotypic plasticity, in which changes in density cause solitary and cryptic individuals to transform into gregarious and conspicuous locusts forming large migrating swarms. We investigated how these coordinated alternati...

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Autores principales:	Bert Foquet, Adrian A. Castellanos, Hojun Song
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3fea8f4f49ec425c8e63fcc11209515d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3fea8f4f49ec425c8e63fcc11209515d2021-12-02T15:03:07ZComparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism10.1038/s41598-021-91317-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/3fea8f4f49ec425c8e63fcc11209515d2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91317-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Locusts exhibit one of nature’s most spectacular examples of complex phenotypic plasticity, in which changes in density cause solitary and cryptic individuals to transform into gregarious and conspicuous locusts forming large migrating swarms. We investigated how these coordinated alternative phenotypes might have evolved by studying the Central American locust and three closely related non-swarming grasshoppers in a comparative framework. By experimentally isolating and crowding during nymphal development, we induced density-dependent phenotypic plasticity and quantified the resulting behavioural, morphological, and molecular reaction norms. All four species exhibited clear plasticity, but the individual reaction norms varied among species and showed different magnitudes. Transcriptomic responses were species-specific, but density-responsive genes were functionally similar across species. There were modules of co-expressed genes that were highly correlated with plastic reaction norms, revealing a potential molecular basis of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity. These findings collectively highlight the importance of studying multiple reaction norms from a comparative perspective.Bert FoquetAdrian A. CastellanosHojun SongNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-15 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Bert Foquet Adrian A. Castellanos Hojun Song Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
description	Abstract Locusts exhibit one of nature’s most spectacular examples of complex phenotypic plasticity, in which changes in density cause solitary and cryptic individuals to transform into gregarious and conspicuous locusts forming large migrating swarms. We investigated how these coordinated alternative phenotypes might have evolved by studying the Central American locust and three closely related non-swarming grasshoppers in a comparative framework. By experimentally isolating and crowding during nymphal development, we induced density-dependent phenotypic plasticity and quantified the resulting behavioural, morphological, and molecular reaction norms. All four species exhibited clear plasticity, but the individual reaction norms varied among species and showed different magnitudes. Transcriptomic responses were species-specific, but density-responsive genes were functionally similar across species. There were modules of co-expressed genes that were highly correlated with plastic reaction norms, revealing a potential molecular basis of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity. These findings collectively highlight the importance of studying multiple reaction norms from a comparative perspective.
format	article
author	Bert Foquet Adrian A. Castellanos Hojun Song
author_facet	Bert Foquet Adrian A. Castellanos Hojun Song
author_sort	Bert Foquet
title	Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
title_short	Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
title_full	Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
title_fullStr	Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
title_full_unstemmed	Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
title_sort	comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/3fea8f4f49ec425c8e63fcc11209515d
work_keys_str_mv	AT bertfoquet comparativeanalysisofphenotypicplasticityshedslightontheevolutionandmolecularunderpinningsoflocustphasepolyphenism AT adrianacastellanos comparativeanalysisofphenotypicplasticityshedslightontheevolutionandmolecularunderpinningsoflocustphasepolyphenism AT hojunsong comparativeanalysisofphenotypicplasticityshedslightontheevolutionandmolecularunderpinningsoflocustphasepolyphenism
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Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism

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