Institut für Biologie, Neurobiologie, Freie Universität, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Institut Biologie II, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 3, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2021 May;207(3):321-326. doi: 10.1007/s00359-021-01485-3. Epub 2021 Apr 19.
One hundred years ago in 1921, Sir Boris Uvarov recognized that two locust species are one species but appearing in two different phases, a solitarious and a gregarious phase. As locust swarms are still a big problem affecting millions of people, basic research has tried to understand the causes for the transition between phases. This phenomenon of phase polymorphism, now called polyphenism, is a very complex multifactorial process and this short review will draw attention to this important aspect of insect research.
一百年前的 1921 年，鲍里斯·乌瓦罗夫爵士（Sir Boris Uvarov）认识到，两种蝗虫是一个物种，但表现出两种不同的阶段，即散居型和群居型。由于蝗灾仍然是一个影响数百万人的大问题，基础研究试图了解两个阶段之间转变的原因。这种相位多态性现象，现在称为多型性，是一个非常复杂的多因素过程，这篇简短的综述将提请人们注意昆虫研究的这一重要方面。
