Larval feeding substrate and species significantly influence the effect of a juvenile hormone analog on sexual development/performance in four tropical tephritid flies

MARTÍN ALUJA; MARIANO ORDANO; PETER E. A. TEAL; JOHN SIVINSKI; DARÍO GARCÍA-MEDEL; ALBERTO ANZURES-DADDA

JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY

Elsevier B.V.

Lugar: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Año: 2009 vol. 55 p. 231 - 242

0022-1910

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The juvenile hormone analog methoprene reduces the amount of time it takes laboratory-reared Anastrepha suspensa (Caribbean fruit fly) males to reach sexual maturity by almost half.  Here, we examined if methoprene exerted a similar effect on four other tropical Anastrepha species (A. ludens, A. obliqua, A. serpentina and A. striata) reared on natural hosts and exhibiting contrasting life histories.  In the case of A. ludens, we worked with two populations that derived from Casimiroagreggii (ancestral host, larvae feed on seeds) and Citrus paradisi (exotic host, larvae feed on pulp).  We found that the effects of methoprene, when they occurred, varied according to species and, in the case of A. ludens, according to larval host.  For example, in the case of the two A. ludens populations the effect of methoprene on first appearance of male calling behavior and number of copulations was only apparent in flies derived from C. greggii.  In contrast, males derived from C. paradisi called and mated almost twice as often and females started to lay eggs almost one day earlier than individuals derived from C. greggii, but in this case there was no significant effect of treatment (methoprene) only a significant host effect.  There were also significant host and host by treatment interactions with respect to egg clutch size.  Anastrepha ludens females derived from C. paradisi laid significantly more eggs per clutch and total number of eggs than females derived from C. greggii.  With respect to the multiple species comparisons, the treatment effect was consistent for A. ludens, occasional in A. serpentina (e.g., calling by males, clutch size), and not apparent in the cases of A. obliqua and A. striata.  Interestingly, with respect to clutch size, in the cases of A. ludens and A. serpentina, the treatment effect followed opposite directions: positive in the case of A. ludens and negative in the case of A. serpentina.  We center our discussion on two hypotheses (differential physiology and larval-food), and also interpret our results in light of the life history differences exhibited by the different species we compared.