Quantitative genetics of feeding behavior in two ecological races of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum.

ABSTRACT: Much of the diversity of herbivorous insects stems from the adaptive divergence of populations onto different host plants. This often involves the evolution of specialized patterns of host acceptance that in turn lead to assortative mating for insects that mate exclusively on their hosts. Here, we explore the genetic architecture of feeding behavior in a herbivorous insect that has become a model for the study of incipient speciation, the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum). We use crosses between individuals specialized to either alfalfa or red clover in order to perform both a biometrical analysis and a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of key feeding behaviors. For each character in each environment, Castle-Wright's estimator for the number of effective factors segregating ranged from

SUBMITTER: Caillaud MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3282383 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature