Galagovsky Diego, Depetris-Chauvin Ana, Kunert Grit, Knaden Markus, Hansson Bill S
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Jena, Germany.
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department for Biochemistry, Jena, Germany.
iScience. 2024 Nov 8;27(12):111341. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111341. eCollection 2024 Dec 20.
In holometabolous insects, the choice of oviposition substrate by the adult needs to be coordinated with the developmental needs of the larva. female flies possess an enlarged serrated ovipositor, which has enabled them to conquer the ripening fruit as an oviposition niche. They insert their eggs through the skin of priced small fruits. However, this specialization seems to clash with the nutritional needs for larval development since ripening fruits have a low protein content and are high in sugars. In this work, we studied how larvae develop in and interact with the blueberry. We show that despite its hardness and composition, first instar larvae are able to use the ripening fruit by engaging in niche construction. They display unique physical and behavioral characteristics that allow them to process the hard-ripening fruit and provoke an improvement in its composition that better suits larval nutritional needs.
在全变态昆虫中，成虫对产卵基质的选择需要与幼虫的发育需求相协调。雌性果蝇拥有一个扩大的锯齿状产卵器，这使它们能够占领成熟果实作为产卵场所。它们通过未成熟小果实的表皮将卵产入其中。然而，这种特化似乎与幼虫发育的营养需求相冲突，因为成熟果实蛋白质含量低而糖分含量高。在这项研究中，我们研究了幼虫如何在蓝莓中发育以及与蓝莓的相互作用。我们发现，尽管蓝莓质地坚硬且成分特殊，但一龄幼虫能够通过生态位构建来利用成熟果实。它们表现出独特的身体和行为特征，使它们能够处理坚硬的成熟果实，并促使果实成分得到改善，从而更适合幼虫的营养需求。
