Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis

The Darwinian theory of natural selection first popularized by Charles Darwin in the mid-19th century has been widely accepted as one of the key mechanisms of evolution. However, before Darwin other scientists such as Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck had their theories about evolution. Lamarck’s theory of...

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Autor principal: Rösvik, Axel
Formato: M2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) 2015
Materias:
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author Rösvik, Axel
author_browse Rösvik, Axel
author_facet Rösvik, Axel
author_sort Rösvik, Axel
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description The Darwinian theory of natural selection first popularized by Charles Darwin in the mid-19th century has been widely accepted as one of the key mechanisms of evolution. However, before Darwin other scientists such as Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck had their theories about evolution. Lamarck’s theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics was one of these theories and it has today been reexamined as transgenerational epigenetics. In this study we will investigate in the polyphagous moth Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) the potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, or transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TPP), as it will be referred to in this thesis. It is known that parental experience can alter the phenotype of the offspring and therefore increase its fitness in the environment experienced by the parent. In this study, we will test if parental plant experience can affect the behaviour and physiology of second-generation individuals of S. littoralis, in preference, migration and performance bioassays. We found evidence of parental effect in the performance of offspring reared on the same diet as the parent. Interesting trends in the behaviour were also found but no significant difference showing transgenerational modulations of offspring behaviour were shown. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms underlying TPP in S. littoralis.
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institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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publishDate 2015
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publisher SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101)
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spelling RepoSLU81192015-06-29T11:00:36Z Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis Transgenerationell fenotypisk plasticitet: kan föräldrars erfarenhet påverka avkommans fenotyp? : en studie i beteende och fysiologi hos Spodoptera littoralis Rösvik, Axel transgenerational phenotypic plasticity Spodoptera littoralis performance migration preference The Darwinian theory of natural selection first popularized by Charles Darwin in the mid-19th century has been widely accepted as one of the key mechanisms of evolution. However, before Darwin other scientists such as Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck had their theories about evolution. Lamarck’s theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics was one of these theories and it has today been reexamined as transgenerational epigenetics. In this study we will investigate in the polyphagous moth Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) the potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, or transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TPP), as it will be referred to in this thesis. It is known that parental experience can alter the phenotype of the offspring and therefore increase its fitness in the environment experienced by the parent. In this study, we will test if parental plant experience can affect the behaviour and physiology of second-generation individuals of S. littoralis, in preference, migration and performance bioassays. We found evidence of parental effect in the performance of offspring reared on the same diet as the parent. Interesting trends in the behaviour were also found but no significant difference showing transgenerational modulations of offspring behaviour were shown. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms underlying TPP in S. littoralis. SLU/Dept. of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) 2015 M2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8119/
spellingShingle transgenerational phenotypic plasticity
Spodoptera littoralis
performance
migration
preference
Rösvik, Axel
Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title_full Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title_fullStr Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title_full_unstemmed Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title_short Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in Spodoptera littoralis
title_sort transgenerational phenotypic plasticity: can parental host plant experience affect the phenotype of the offspring? : a study in behavior and physiology in spodoptera littoralis
topic transgenerational phenotypic plasticity
Spodoptera littoralis
performance
migration
preference