Laursen Stine Frey, Hansen Laura Skrubbeltrang, Bahrndorff Simon, Nielsen Hanne Marie, Noer Natasja Krog, Renault David, Sahana Goutam, Sørensen Jesper Givskov, Kristensen Torsten Nygaard
Section of Biology and Environmental Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Insects. 2021 Apr 22;12(5):380. doi: 10.3390/insects12050380.
Within ecophysiological and genetic studies on insects, morphological and physiological traits are commonly assessed and phenotypes are typically obtained from manual measurements on numerous individuals. Manual observations are, however, time consuming, can introduce observer bias and are prone to human error. Here, we contrast results obtained from manual assessment of larval size and thermal tolerance traits in black soldier flies () and houseflies () that have been acclimated under three different temperature regimes with those obtained automatically using an image analysis software (Noldus EthoVision XT). We found that (i) larval size estimates of both species, obtained by manual weighing or by using the software, were highly correlated, (ii) measures of heat and cold tolerance using manual and automated approaches provided qualitatively similar results, and (iii) by using the software we obtained quantifiable information on stress responses and acclimation effects of potentially higher ecological relevance than the endpoint traits that are typically assessed when manual assessments are used. Based on these findings, we argue that automated assessment of insect stress responses and largescale phenotyping of morphological traits such as size will provide new opportunities within many disciplines where accurate and largescale phenotyping of insects is required.
在昆虫的生态生理学和遗传学研究中，形态和生理特征通常会被评估，表型通常是通过对大量个体进行手动测量获得的。然而，手动观察既耗时，又可能引入观察者偏差，还容易出现人为错误。在此，我们将在三种不同温度条件下驯化的黑水虻（Hermetia illucens）和家蝇（Musca domestica）幼虫大小和耐热性特征的手动评估结果，与使用图像分析软件（Noldus EthoVision XT）自动获得的结果进行对比。我们发现：（i）通过手动称重或使用该软件获得的两种昆虫幼虫大小估计值高度相关；（ii）使用手动和自动方法测量的耐热性和耐寒性结果在质量上相似；（iii）通过使用该软件，我们获得了有关应激反应和驯化效应的可量化信息，这些信息在生态相关性方面可能比使用手动评估时通常评估的终点特征更高。基于这些发现，我们认为，对昆虫应激反应进行自动评估以及对诸如大小等形态特征进行大规模表型分析，将在许多需要对昆虫进行准确和大规模表型分析的学科中提供新的机会。
