Lassance Jean-Marc, Löfstedt Christer
Department of Ecology, Lund University, S-22362, Lund, Sweden.
BMC Biol. 2009 Mar 3;7:10. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-7-10.
Sexual reproduction entails the encounter of the sexes and the multiplicity of rituals is parallel to the diversity of mating systems. Evolutionary mechanisms such as sexual selection and sexual conflict have led to the elaboration of traits to gain attention and favours from potential partners. A paradox exists about how coordinated systems can evolve and diverge when there would seem to be a stabilising selection acting. Moth display traits - pheromones - constitute an advantageous model with which to address questions about the evolution of mating systems in animals. Both males and females can possess pheromones that are involved either in close- or long-range communication. Female and male pheromones appear to have different origins and to be under different evolutionary constraints, thus they might be envisioned as independently evolving traits. We conducted laboratory experiments to explore the role of scents released during courtship by males of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis.
Information provided by the male pheromone appears critical for female acceptance. The composition of this male pheromone varies in an age-dependent manner and females show mating preference towards older males in choice experiments. Furthermore, male signals may allow species discrimination and reinforce reproductive isolation. Finally, we found evidence for a genetic correlation between male and female signals, the evolution of which is best explained by the constraints and opportunities resulting from the sharing of gene products.
In this study we used an integrative approach to characterise the male sex pheromone in a moth. Interestingly, the male chemical signal is analogous to the female signal in that structurally similar compounds are being used by both sexes. Hence, in systems where both sexes possess display traits, the pleiotropy of genes generating the traits could influence the evolutionary trajectories of sexual signals and lead to their divergence, with speciation being the ultimate result.
有性生殖需要两性相遇，求偶仪式的多样性与交配系统的多样性并行。诸如性选择和性冲突等进化机制导致了各种特征的形成，以吸引潜在配偶的注意并获得青睐。当似乎存在稳定选择作用时，协调的系统如何进化和分化，这存在一个悖论。蛾类的展示特征——信息素——构成了一个有利的模型，可用于解决有关动物交配系统进化的问题。雄性和雌性都可以拥有参与近距离或远距离交流的信息素。雌性和雄性信息素似乎有不同的起源，并且受到不同的进化限制，因此它们可能被视为独立进化的特征。我们进行了实验室实验，以探索欧洲玉米螟（Ostrinia nubilalis）雄性在求偶过程中释放的气味的作用。
雄性信息素提供的信息对于雌性的接受似乎至关重要。这种雄性信息素的组成随年龄而变化，在选择实验中，雌性对年龄较大的雄性表现出交配偏好。此外，雄性信号可能有助于物种识别并加强生殖隔离。最后，我们发现了雄性和雌性信号之间存在遗传相关性的证据，其进化最好用基因产物共享所产生的限制和机会来解释。
在本研究中，我们采用综合方法来表征一种蛾类的雄性性信息素。有趣的是，雄性化学信号与雌性信号类似，因为两性都使用结构相似的化合物。因此，在两性都拥有展示特征的系统中，产生这些特征的基因的多效性可能会影响性信号的进化轨迹并导致它们的分化，最终结果是物种形成。
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