Sex pheromone of a coccoid insect with sexual and asexual lineages: fate of an ancestrally essential sexual signal in parthenogenetic females.

ABSTRACT: Sex pheromones play a central role in intersexual communication for reproduction in many organisms. Particularly in insects, reproductive isolation that leads to speciation is often achieved by shifts of pheromone chemistries. However, the divergence and evolution of pheromones remain largely unknown. This study reveals a unique evolutionary consequence for terpenoid pheromones in coccoid insects. Coccoids, such as mealybugs, show clear sexual dimorphism: males are dwarf and short-lived, whereas females are wingless and almost immobile. Female pheromones are therefore indispensable for males to navigate for sexual reproduction, but some females can reproduce asexually. Interestingly, a derived asexual lineage that reproduces by parthenogenesis coexists with its ancestral lineage that repro

SUBMITTER: Tabata J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5378144 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature