Przybylska Maria Stefania, Brito Felipe Alves de, Tidon Rosana
PPG Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília-DF 70910-900, Brazil.
PPG Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília-DF 70910-900, Brazil; Departamento de Genética e Morfologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília-DF 70910-900, Brazil.
J Therm Biol. 2016 Dec;62(Pt A):7-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.06.026. Epub 2016 Oct 5.
Several authors have called attention to the evolutionary importance of phenotypic plasticity and niche construction, because such phenomena require a new status and a new perspective. Drosophila species are traditionally used as models in investigations of phenotypic plasticity, although the majority of such research has been conducted with species of the subgenus Sophophora, primarily Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we investigated the phenotypic plasticity of Drosophila cardini, a Neotropical species of the subgenus Drosophila, and focused on the wing size, wing shape, thorax length and wing: thorax ratio of lines that were collected in the Brazilian savanna and exposed to different temperatures during growth. All of the analyzed traits presented plasticity to temperature, and the reaction norms were similar to those previously found in other drosophilid species; in addition, the maximum values were consistent with the temperature variations at the collection sites. The specimens that emerged at low temperatures were larger and had more rounded wings compared with those that emerged at high temperatures, which were smaller and had narrower wings. We hypothesized that the differences observed in the shape of the wings might be associated with flight performance. Nevertheless, further investigation of the relationships among wing shape, wing loading and flight performance is required. Investigations on phenotypic plasticity using species with diverse ecologies should help us to better understand how this phenomenon operates in nature, and studies of this type must be encouraged.
几位作者已经提请人们注意表型可塑性和生态位构建在进化上的重要性，因为这些现象需要一种新的地位和新的视角。果蝇物种传统上被用作表型可塑性研究的模型，尽管大多数此类研究是针对Sophophora亚属的物种进行的，主要是黑腹果蝇。在本研究中，我们调查了果蝇属亚属的一种新热带物种——卡氏果蝇的表型可塑性，并重点关注了在巴西稀树草原采集的、在生长过程中暴露于不同温度下的品系的翅大小、翅形状、胸长和翅与胸的比例。所有分析的性状都表现出对温度的可塑性，反应规范与先前在其他果蝇物种中发现的相似；此外，最大值与采集地点的温度变化一致。与在高温下羽化的标本相比，在低温下羽化的标本更大，翅膀更圆润，而高温下羽化的标本更小，翅膀更窄。我们假设观察到的翅膀形状差异可能与飞行性能有关。然而，需要进一步研究翅膀形状、翼载荷和飞行性能之间的关系。使用具有不同生态习性的物种进行表型可塑性研究应有助于我们更好地理解这种现象在自然界中的运作方式，必须鼓励开展此类研究。
