Chrysomela aeneicollis

Chrysomela aeneicollis is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. This organism has been used as a model for studies of natural selection in nature.[1][2] It is currently being investigated to study effects of environmental change on insect populations,[3][4] and the evolutionary significance of variation at genes affecting metabolism and the response to stress.[5][2][6] It has been included as a study species in the California Conservation Genomics Project, due to its presence in multiple California ecoregions and extensive knowledge of genetic variation, evolutionary ecology, and interactions with other species.[7] Information about its range and comparisons with closely related species can be found in a review of the genus Chrysomela published in the Canadian Entomologist.[8]

Chrysomela aeneicollis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Genus: Chrysomela
Species:
C. aeneicollis
Binomial name
Chrysomela aeneicollis
(Schaeffer, 1928)

Distribution

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Chrysomela aeneicollis is found in western North America.[9][10][11][12] Populations occur in cooler habitats in coastal regions from northern California to British Columbia, or at high elevations in the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Alberta) and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.[8][13] In California, this leaf beetle occurs in the Sierra Nevada mountains from Lone Pine to Modoc County and coastal populations are found north of San Francisco in Mendocino County.[13]

Host plant relationships

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Chrysomela aeneicollis belongs to a group of closely related species within the genus Chrysomela that feed on willows or poplars (family Salicaceae) or on alder[8] or birch (family Betulaceae).[14] As immatures (larvae), C. aeneicollis individuals use chemicals extracted from host plant foliage to produce a defensive secretion that they expose when attacked by potential predators.[15] They prefer host willows that contain greater amounts of these chemicals (salicylate-rich) over plants that are salicylate-poor and they are stimulated to feed by salicin.[16]

Natural enemies and host plant use

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The evolutionary significance of the host-plant derived defensive secretions of C. aeneicollis was investigated, with the expectation that larval survival would be greater on salicylate-rich plants than salicylate-poor ones.[15] Field studies on C. aeneicollis revealed that specialist predators cause significant mortality, which reduces or eliminates the benefits of the host-plant derived larval defensive secretion.[17][18] One of these predators is a fly (Parasyrphus melanderi) that lays its eggs on C. aeneicollis eggs. When they hatch, P. melanderi larvae feed exclusively on eggs and larvae, with no evidence that the defensive secretion repels them.[19] The other important specialist predator is the wasp Symmorphus cristatus, which specializes on C. aeneicollis larvae in their third instar (molt).[20][21] These two predators act as complementary mortality factors on C. aeneicollis larvae and constitute important components of a food web including the beetle and its natural enemies in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.[22]

Genetic variation and response to heat stress along environmental gradients

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As noted above, Chrysomela aeneicollis lives in regions with cool summertime temperatures like its close relatives in the interrupta subgenus of Chrysomela species.[8] In montane regions of central California, populations are generally found above 2800 m and they retreat to higher elevations during dry periods.[4][23] Populations at these elevations experience long winters and beetle survival depends on their ability to survive exposure to extreme cold temperatures and to survive an extended dormancy period without food.[24][25][3][4][26] During the brief summer growing season (June to September), beetles emerge from their overwintering sites, mate,[27][28] lay eggs, and undergo one generation of larval development before new adults emerge and feed for a few weeks before winter returns.[20] Furthermore, populations at high elevations must complete their life cycle under conditions of low oxygen supply, which compounds the challenges of rapid development during the brief montane summer.[4] These environmental challenges can impose evolutionary pressures that favor the maintenance of genetic variation (due to genotype by environment interactions) and adaptation to local environmental conditions.

 
Summer life stages in montane California.

Populations in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains show genetic differences along a latitudinal gradient that may reflect adaptation to variable temperatures and oxygen levels.[29][4][30] Early studies used enzyme polymorphisms, which are located on genes in the nucleus and inherited according to Mendelian genetic principles, to infer differences among populations in three study drainages in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains (Rock Creek, Bishop Creek, and Big Pine Creek).[31] One of these enzymes, phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), showed a steep latitudinal cline in frequency that was more pronounced than others,[31] suggesting that PGI frequencies may be sensitive to environmental temperature.[2] Subsequent work revealed that PGI genotypes differed with respect to expression of heat shock proteins,[32] which help maintain functionality of other proteins and protect an organism from negative effects of heat exposure. PGI genotypes that predominate in the northern drainage Rock Creek express higher levels of heat shock proteins in nature,[32] and they express them in the laboratory at lower temperatures,[29] suggesting that beetles in southern populations are more heat-tolerant. Further experiments supported this hypothesis and also suggested that PGI genotype is related to tolerance to stressfully cold temperatures.[33][34][35][36] Recent findings suggest that differences among populations in frequencies of mitochondrial types is also related to environmental differences in temperature and oxygen supply,[4] and that local adaptation occurs through interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear genotype.[30][37]

References

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  1. ^ Millstein, Roberta L. (2006). "Natural Selection as a Population-Level Causal Process". The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 57 (4): 627–653. doi:10.1093/bjps/axl025. JSTOR 4489089.
  2. ^ a b c "Natural selection from the gene up: The work of Elizabeth Dahlhoff and Nathan Rank". evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/home.php. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  3. ^ a b "Insect responses to winter climate change: interactions between cold and energy stress". www.biologists.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Dahlhoff, Elizabeth P; Dahlhoff, Victoria C; Grainger, Corrine A; Zavala, Nicolas A; Otepola-Bello, Dami; Sargent, Brynn A; Roberts, Kevin T; Heidl, Sarah J; Smiley, John T; Rank, Nathan E (2019). "Getting chased up the mountain: high elevation may limit performance and fitness characters in a montane insect". Functional Ecology. 33 (5): 809–818. Bibcode:2019FuEco..33..809D. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13286. S2CID 91324149.
  5. ^ "Team Beetle". www.wmrc.edu. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  6. ^ "Exploring Evolution By Studying Beetles Living On The Edge Report". www.scientia.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  7. ^ "Chrysomela aeneicollis (Sierra Willow Leaf beetle)". www.ccgproject.org. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  8. ^ a b c d Brown, W. J. (1956). "The New World species of Chrysomela L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". The Canadian Entomologist. 88 (Supplement 3): 1–54.
  9. ^ "Chrysomela aeneicollis Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  10. ^ "Chrysomela aeneicollis". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  11. ^ Wilcox, John A. (1972). "A Review of the North American Chrysomeline Leaf Beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". New York Museum and Science Service Bulletin.
  12. ^ a b Dellicour, S.; Fearnley, S. L.; Lombal, A.; Heidl, S. J.; Dahlhoff, E. P.; Rank, N. E.; Mardulyn, P. (2014). "Inferring the past and present connectivity across the range of a North American leaf beetle: combining ecological-niche modeling and a geographically explicit model of coalescence" (PDF). Evolution. 68 (8): 2371–2385. doi:10.1111/evo.12426. PMID 24749775. S2CID 3467381.
  13. ^ Termonia, A.; Hsiao, T. H.; Pasteels, J. M.; Milinkovitch, M. C. (2001). "Feeding specialization and host-derived chemical defense in Chrysomeline leaf beetles did not lead to an evolutionary dead end". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 98 (7): 3909–3914. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.3909T. doi:10.1073/pnas.061034598. PMC 31152. PMID 11259651.
  14. ^ a b Smiley, J. T.; Horn, J. H.; Rank, N. E. (1985). "Ecological effects of salicin at three trophic levels: new problems from old adaptations". Science. 229 (4714): 649–651. Bibcode:1985Sci...229..649S. doi:10.1126/science.229.4714.649. PMID 17739376. S2CID 24002397.
  15. ^ Rank, N. E. (1992). "Host plant preference based on salicylate chemistry in a willow leaf beetle (Chrysomela aeneicollis)". Oecologia (Berlin). 90 (1): 95–101. Bibcode:1992Oecol..90...95R. doi:10.1007/BF00317814. PMID 28312276. S2CID 1864388.
  16. ^ Rank, N. E. (1994). "Host plant effects on larval survival in a salicin-using leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Oecologia (Berlin). 97 (3): 342–353. doi:10.1007/BF00317324. PMID 28313629. S2CID 20569239.
  17. ^ Rank, NE; Smiley, JT; Köpf, A (1996). "Natural enemies and host plant relationships for chrysomeline leaf beetles feeding on Salicaceae". Chrysomelidae Biology. 2: 147–171.
  18. ^ Rank, N. E.; Smiley, J. T. (1994). "Host-plant effects on Parasyrphus melanderi Curran (Diptera: Syrphidae) feeding on a willow leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Ecological Entomology. 19: 31–38. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1994.tb00387.x. S2CID 85082871.
  19. ^ a b Smiley, J. T.; Rank, N. E. (1986). "Predator protection versus rapid growth in a montane leaf beetle". Oecologia. 70 (1): 106–112. Bibcode:1986Oecol..70..106S. doi:10.1007/BF00377117. PMID 28311293. S2CID 24472517.
  20. ^ Sears, Anna LW; Smiley, John T; Hilker, Monika; Müller, Frank; Rank, Nathan E (2001). "Nesting behavior and prey use in two geographically separated populations of the specialist wasp Symmorphus cristatus (Vespidae: Eumeninae)". The American Midland Naturalist. 145 (2): 233–246. doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2001)145[0233:NBAPUI]2.0.CO;2. hdl:10211.1/796. S2CID 6122463.
  21. ^ Otto, S. B.; Berlow, E. L.; Rank, N. E.; Smiley, J.; Brose, U. (2008). "Predator diversity and identity drive interaction strength and trophic cascades in a food web". Ecology. 89 (1): 134–44. Bibcode:2008Ecol...89..134O. doi:10.1890/07-0066.1. hdl:10211.1/799. ISSN 0012-9658. PMID 18376555.
  22. ^ Dahlhoff, E. P.; Fearnley, S. L.; Bruce, D. A.; Gibbs, A. G.; Stoneking, R.; Mc Millan, D. M.; Deiner, K.; Smiley, J. T.; Rank, N. E. (2008). "Effects of temperature on physiology and reproductive success of a montane leaf beetle: Implications for persistence of native populations enduring climate change". Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 81 (6): 718–732. doi:10.1086/590165. hdl:10211.1/506. ISSN 1522-2152. PMID 18956974. S2CID 15923123.
  23. ^ Roberts, K.T.; Rank, N.E.; Dahlhoff, E.P.; Stillman, J.H.; Williams, C.M. (2021). "Snow modulates winter energy use and cold exposure across an elevation gradient in a montane ectotherm". Global Change Biology. 27 (23): 6103–6116. doi:10.1111/gcb.15912. PMID 34601792. S2CID 238257035.
  24. ^ Roberts, Kevin T.; Stillman, Jonathon H.; Rank, Nathan E.; Dahlhoff, Elizabeth P.; Bracewell, Ryan R.; Elmore, Joanna; Williams, Caroline M. (2023). "Transcriptomic evidence indicates that montane leaf beetles prioritize digestion and reproduction in a sex-specific manner during emergence from dormancy". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics. 47: 101088. doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2023.101088. PMID 37210884. S2CID 258782562.
  25. ^ Boychuck, E. C.; Smiley, J. T.; Dahlhoff, E. P.; Bernards, M. A.; Rank, N. E.; Sinclair, B. J. (2015). "Cold tolerance of the montane Sierra leaf beetle, Chrysomela aeneicollis". Journal of Insect Physiology. 81: 157–166. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.07.015. PMID 26231921.
  26. ^ Rank, N. E.; Yturralde, K.; Dahlhoff, E. P. (2006). "Role of contests in the scramble competition mating system of a leaf beetle". Journal of Insect Behavior. 19 (6): 699–716. Bibcode:2006JIBeh..19..699R. doi:10.1007/s10905-006-9051-2. S2CID 5267930.
  27. ^ Dick, C. A.; Rank, N. E.; McCarthy, M.; McWeeney, S.; Hollis, D.; Dahlhoff, E. P. (2013). "Effects of temperature variation on male behavior and mating success in a montane beetle". Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 86 (4): 432–440. doi:10.1086/671462. PMID 23799837. S2CID 37549202.
  28. ^ a b Rank, N. E.; Dahlhoff, E. P. (2002). "Allele frequency shifts in response to climate change and physiological consequences of allozyme variation in a montane insect". Evolution. 56 (11): 2278–2289. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb00151.x. PMID 12487357. S2CID 16196224.
  29. ^ a b Rank, Nathan E; Mardulyn, Patrick; Heidl, Sarah J; Roberts, Kevin T; Zavala, Nicolas A; Smiley, John T; Dahlhoff, Elizabeth P (2020). "Mitonuclear mismatch alters performance and reproductive success in naturally introgressed populations of a montane leaf beetle". Evolution. 74 (8): 1724–1740. doi:10.1111/evo.13962. PMID 32246837.
  30. ^ a b Rank, N. E. (1992). "A hierarchical analysis of genetic differentiation in a montane leaf beetle (Chrysomela aeneicollis)". Evolution. 46 (4): 1097–1111. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1992.tb00622.x. PMID 28564415. S2CID 25176689.
  31. ^ a b Dahlhoff, E. P.; Rank, N. E. (2000). "Functional and physiological consequences of genetic variation at phosphoglucose isomerase: heat shock protein expression is related to enzyme genotype in a montane beetle". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 97 (18): 10056–10061. Bibcode:2000PNAS...9710056D. doi:10.1073/pnas.160277697. PMC 27685. PMID 10944188.
  32. ^ Neargarder, G. G.; Dahlhoff, E. P.; Rank, N. E. (2003). "Variation in thermal tolerance is linked to phosphoglucose isomerase genotype in a montane leaf beetle". Functional Ecology. 17 (2): 213–221. Bibcode:2003FuEco..17..213N. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00722.x.
  33. ^ Mc Millan, D. M.; Fearnley, S. L.; Rank, N. E.; Dahlhoff, E. P. (2005). "Natural temperature variation affects larval survival, development and Hsp70 expression in a leaf beetle". Functional Ecology. 19 (5): 844–852. Bibcode:2005FuEco..19..844M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.01031.x.
  34. ^ Dahlhoff, E. P.; Rank, N. E. (2007). "The role of stress proteins in responses of a montane willow leaf beetle to environmental temperature variation". Journal of Biosciences. 32 (3): 477–488. doi:10.1007/s12038-007-0047-7. hdl:10211.1/798. PMID 17536167. S2CID 9232969.
  35. ^ Rank, N. E.; Bruce, D. A.; Mc Millan, D. M.; Barclay, C.; Dahlhoff, E. P. (2007). "Phosphoglucose isomerase genotype affects running speed and heat shock protein expression after exposure to extreme temperatures in a montane willow beetle". Journal of Experimental Biology. 210 (5): 750–764. doi:10.1242/jeb.02695. PMID 17297136. S2CID 17231202.
  36. ^ Bracewell, R.R.; Stillman, J.H.; Dahlhoff, E.P.; Smeds, E.; Chatla, K.; Bachtrog, D.; Williams, C.M.; Rank, N.E. (2023). "A chromosome scale genome assembly and evaluation of mtDNA variation in the willow leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis". bioRxiv. 13 (7): 2023–04. 19.537531. doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkad106. PMC 10320752. PMID 37178174.

Further reading

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  • Dahlhoff, Elizabeth P; Rank, Nathan E (2007). "The role of stress proteins in responses of a montane willow leaf beetle to environmental temperature variation". Journal of Biosciences. 32 (3): 477–488. doi:10.1007/s12038-007-0047-7. hdl:10211.1/798. PMID 17536167. S2CID 9232969.
  • Rank, Nathan E (1991). "Effects of plant chemical variation on a specialist herbivore: willow leaf beetles in the Eastern Sierra Nevada". Natural History of Eastern California and High-altitude Research. University of California Press, Berkeley: 161–181.
  • Roberts, K. T. (2016). "Variation among metabolic enzymes along a thermal gradient in a montane ectotherm" (Document). Sonoma State University.