Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)

The majority of herbivorous insects are specialised feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. The evolution of specialised insect-plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. Through the course of natural selection, host pl...

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Main Authors: Michael Cripps, Sarah Jackman, Cristina Roquet, Chikako van Koten, Michael Rostás, Graeme Bourdot, Alfonso Susanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2016-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2016.01261/full
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spelling doaj-74b1700f7f3c42b49a13aede99eb2aa22020-11-24T23:58:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2016-08-01710.3389/fpls.2016.01261194715Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)Michael Cripps0Sarah Jackman1Cristina Roquet2Chikako van Koten3Michael Rostás4Graeme Bourdot5Alfonso Susanna6AgResearchAgResearchLaboratoire d’Écologie Alpine (LECA), CNRS, Université Grenoble AlpesAgResearchBio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln UniversityAgResearchInstitut Botànic de Barcelona, (IBB-CSIC-ICUB)The majority of herbivorous insects are specialised feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. The evolution of specialised insect-plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. Through the course of natural selection, host plants that maximise insect fitness should result in optimal, specialised, insect-plant associations. However, the extent to which insects are tracking plant phylogeny or key plant traits that act as herbivore resistance or acceptance characters is uncertain. Thus, with regard to the evolution of host plant specialisation, we tested if insect performance is explained by phylogenetic relatedness of potential host plants, or key plant traits that are not phylogenetically related. We tested the survival (naive 1st instar to adult) of the oligophagous leaf-feeding beetle, Cassida rubiginosa, on 16 selected representatives of the Cardueae tribe (thistles and knapweeds), including some of the worst weeds in temperate grasslands of the world in terms of the economic impacts caused by lost productivity. Leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf pubescence, flavonoid concentration, carbon and nitrogen content) were measured as explanatory variables and tested in relation to survival of the beetle, and the phylogenetic signal of the traits were examined. The survival of C. rubiginosa decreased with increasing phylogenetic distance from the known primary host plant, C. arvense, suggesting that specialisation is a conserved character, and that insect host range, to a large degree is constrained by evolutionary history. The only trait measured that clearly offered some explanatory value for the survival of C. rubiginosa was specific leaf area. This trait was not phylogenetically dependant, and when combined with phylogenetic distance from C. arvense gave the best model explaining C. rubiginosa survival. We conclude that the specialisation of the beetle is explained by a combination of adaptation to an optimal host plant over evolutionary time, and key plant traits such as specific leaf area that can restrict or broaden host utilisation within the Cardueae lineage. The phylogenetic pattern of C. rubiginosa fitness will aid in predicting the ability of this biocontrol agent to control multiple Cardueae weeds.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2016.01261/fullHost Specificityweedsbiological controlThistlesCardueaeCirsium arvense
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Michael Cripps
Sarah Jackman
Cristina Roquet
Chikako van Koten
Michael Rostás
Graeme Bourdot
Alfonso Susanna
spellingShingle Michael Cripps
Sarah Jackman
Cristina Roquet
Chikako van Koten
Michael Rostás
Graeme Bourdot
Alfonso Susanna
Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
Frontiers in Plant Science
Host Specificity
weeds
biological control
Thistles
Cardueae
Cirsium arvense
author_facet Michael Cripps
Sarah Jackman
Cristina Roquet
Chikako van Koten
Michael Rostás
Graeme Bourdot
Alfonso Susanna
author_sort Michael Cripps
title Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
title_short Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
title_full Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
title_fullStr Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
title_full_unstemmed Evolution of specialisation of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae)
title_sort evolution of specialisation of cassida rubiginosa on cirsium arvense (compositae, cardueae)
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Plant Science
issn 1664-462X
publishDate 2016-08-01
description The majority of herbivorous insects are specialised feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. The evolution of specialised insect-plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. Through the course of natural selection, host plants that maximise insect fitness should result in optimal, specialised, insect-plant associations. However, the extent to which insects are tracking plant phylogeny or key plant traits that act as herbivore resistance or acceptance characters is uncertain. Thus, with regard to the evolution of host plant specialisation, we tested if insect performance is explained by phylogenetic relatedness of potential host plants, or key plant traits that are not phylogenetically related. We tested the survival (naive 1st instar to adult) of the oligophagous leaf-feeding beetle, Cassida rubiginosa, on 16 selected representatives of the Cardueae tribe (thistles and knapweeds), including some of the worst weeds in temperate grasslands of the world in terms of the economic impacts caused by lost productivity. Leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf pubescence, flavonoid concentration, carbon and nitrogen content) were measured as explanatory variables and tested in relation to survival of the beetle, and the phylogenetic signal of the traits were examined. The survival of C. rubiginosa decreased with increasing phylogenetic distance from the known primary host plant, C. arvense, suggesting that specialisation is a conserved character, and that insect host range, to a large degree is constrained by evolutionary history. The only trait measured that clearly offered some explanatory value for the survival of C. rubiginosa was specific leaf area. This trait was not phylogenetically dependant, and when combined with phylogenetic distance from C. arvense gave the best model explaining C. rubiginosa survival. We conclude that the specialisation of the beetle is explained by a combination of adaptation to an optimal host plant over evolutionary time, and key plant traits such as specific leaf area that can restrict or broaden host utilisation within the Cardueae lineage. The phylogenetic pattern of C. rubiginosa fitness will aid in predicting the ability of this biocontrol agent to control multiple Cardueae weeds.
topic Host Specificity
weeds
biological control
Thistles
Cardueae
Cirsium arvense
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2016.01261/full
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