Microsatellite loci were isolated for Ceratosolen solmsi, pollinator of the dioecious Ficus hispida. We developed nine polymorphic microsatellite loci based on the method of polymerase chain reaction isolation of micr...Microsatellite loci were isolated for Ceratosolen solmsi, pollinator of the dioecious Ficus hispida. We developed nine polymorphic microsatellite loci based on the method of polymerase chain reaction isolation of microsatellite arrays （PIMA）. Enrichment of genomic libraries was performed by random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD）. A subset of 38 positive clones was sequenced; 15 clones showed microsatellite loci. We tested 15 designed primer pairs and nine of them produced polymorphic amplification in 48 individual wasps collected from different fruits of the dioecious host fig Ficus hispida in China. Among the 48 individuals, 49 alleles were obtained at the nine loci. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.357 and 0.634.展开更多
Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that infect numerous arthropod species. Previous studies in Panama and Australia revealed that the majority of fig wasp species harbor Wolbachia infections, but that similar patter...Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that infect numerous arthropod species. Previous studies in Panama and Australia revealed that the majority of fig wasp species harbor Wolbachia infections, but that similar patterns of incidence have evolved inde- pendently with different wasp species and Wolbachia strains on the two continents. We found Wolbachia infections in 25/47 species （53%） of fig wasp associated with 25 species of Chinese figs. Phylogenetic analyses of Wotbachia wsp sequences indicated that very similar strains are not obviously found in either closely related or ecologically linked fig wasps species. The extremely high prevalence of Wolbachia in fig wasps （over 50% of species infected） is not constrained by geographical origin and is a recurrent theme of fig wasp/Wolbachia interactions.展开更多
Local mate competition theory predicts that offspring sex ratio in pollinating fig wasps is female-biased when there is only one foundress, and increased foundress density results in increased offspring sex ratio. Inf...Local mate competition theory predicts that offspring sex ratio in pollinating fig wasps is female-biased when there is only one foundress, and increased foundress density results in increased offspring sex ratio. Information of other foundresses and clutch size have been suggested to be the main proximate explanations for sex ratio adjustment under local mate competition. Our focus was to show the mechanism of sex ratio adjustment in a pollinating fig wasp, Ceratosolen solmsi Mayr, an obligate pollinator of the functionally dioecious fig, Ficus hispida Linn., with controlled experiments in the field. First, we obtained offspring from one pollinator and offspring at different oviposition sequences, and found that offspring sex ratio decreased with clutch size, and pollinators produced most of their male offspring at the start of bouts, followed by mostly females. Second, we found that offspring sex ratio increased with foundress density, and pollinators did adjust their offspring sex ratio to other females in the oviposition patches. We suggest that when oviposition sites are not limited, pollinators will mainly adjust their offspring sex ratio to other foundresses independent of clutch size changes, whereas adjusting clutch size may be used to adjust sex ratio when oviposition sites are limited.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC, No. 30330090, 30570970）, partially by National Science Fund for Fostering Talents in Basic Research （NSFC-J0030092）. We thank Dr. Z.J. Liu and Y.L. Hao, for their technical advice. Special thanks is due to Dr. W. Xin, TransGen Biotech Company （Beijing） for providing high-quality reagent products.
文摘Microsatellite loci were isolated for Ceratosolen solmsi, pollinator of the dioecious Ficus hispida. We developed nine polymorphic microsatellite loci based on the method of polymerase chain reaction isolation of microsatellite arrays （PIMA）. Enrichment of genomic libraries was performed by random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD）. A subset of 38 positive clones was sequenced; 15 clones showed microsatellite loci. We tested 15 designed primer pairs and nine of them produced polymorphic amplification in 48 individual wasps collected from different fruits of the dioecious host fig Ficus hispida in China. Among the 48 individuals, 49 alleles were obtained at the nine loci. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.357 and 0.634.
文摘Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that infect numerous arthropod species. Previous studies in Panama and Australia revealed that the majority of fig wasp species harbor Wolbachia infections, but that similar patterns of incidence have evolved inde- pendently with different wasp species and Wolbachia strains on the two continents. We found Wolbachia infections in 25/47 species （53%） of fig wasp associated with 25 species of Chinese figs. Phylogenetic analyses of Wotbachia wsp sequences indicated that very similar strains are not obviously found in either closely related or ecologically linked fig wasps species. The extremely high prevalence of Wolbachia in fig wasps （over 50% of species infected） is not constrained by geographical origin and is a recurrent theme of fig wasp/Wolbachia interactions.
文摘Local mate competition theory predicts that offspring sex ratio in pollinating fig wasps is female-biased when there is only one foundress, and increased foundress density results in increased offspring sex ratio. Information of other foundresses and clutch size have been suggested to be the main proximate explanations for sex ratio adjustment under local mate competition. Our focus was to show the mechanism of sex ratio adjustment in a pollinating fig wasp, Ceratosolen solmsi Mayr, an obligate pollinator of the functionally dioecious fig, Ficus hispida Linn., with controlled experiments in the field. First, we obtained offspring from one pollinator and offspring at different oviposition sequences, and found that offspring sex ratio decreased with clutch size, and pollinators produced most of their male offspring at the start of bouts, followed by mostly females. Second, we found that offspring sex ratio increased with foundress density, and pollinators did adjust their offspring sex ratio to other females in the oviposition patches. We suggest that when oviposition sites are not limited, pollinators will mainly adjust their offspring sex ratio to other foundresses independent of clutch size changes, whereas adjusting clutch size may be used to adjust sex ratio when oviposition sites are limited.
