Anticipatory gene regulation driven by maternal effects in an insect-host system.

ABSTRACT: Adaptive mechanisms involved in the prediction of future environments are common in organisms experiencing temporally variable environments. One of these is AGR (anticipatory gene regulation); in which differential gene expression occur in an individual, triggered by the experience of an ancestor. In this study, we explored the existence of AGR driven by a maternal effect, in an insect-host system. We analyzed gene expression of detoxifying systems in aphids across two generations, by shifting mothers and offspring from chemically defended to nondefended hosts, and vice versa. Then, we measured fitness (intrinsic rate of increase) and the relative abundance of transcripts from certain candidate genes in daughters, using RT-qPCR (quantitative reverse-transcription PCR). We found AGR in most

SUBMITTER: Nespolo RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4813104 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature