Reduced olfactory acuity in recently flightless insects suggests rapid regressive evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insects have exceptionally fast smelling capabilities, and some can track the temporal structure of odour plumes at rates above 100 Hz. It has been hypothesized that this fast smelling capability is an adaptation for flying. We test this hypothesis by comparing the olfactory acuity of sympatric flighted versus flightless lineages within a wing-polymorphic stonefly species.

Results

Our analyses of olfactory receptor neuron responses reveal that recently-evolved flightless lineages have reduced olfactory acuity. By comparing flighted versus flightless ecotypes with similar genetic backgrounds, we eliminate other confounding factors that might have affected the evolution of their olfactory reception mechanisms. Our detection of different patterns of reduced olfactory

SUBMITTER: Neupert S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9013461 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature