Differential gene expression in Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt, 1821) (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) induced by Wolbachia infection

Distinct lineages of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) form well-known hybrid zones (HZs) both in the Pyrenees and the Alps mountain ranges in South Europe. These HZs represent unique experimental systems to identify “key genes” that maintain genetic boundaries between e...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jiménez Florido, Patricia, Aquilino, Mónica, Buckley Iglesias, David, Bella Sombría, José Luis, Planelló Carro, Rosario
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/716750
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/716750
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.13481
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Energy Metabolism
Hybrid Zones
Immune System Response
Insects
Repro-duction
Wolbachia
Biología y Biomedicina / Biología
Descripción
Sumario:Distinct lineages of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) form well-known hybrid zones (HZs) both in the Pyrenees and the Alps mountain ranges in South Europe. These HZs represent unique experimental systems to identify “key genes” that maintain genetic boundaries between emerging species. The Iberian endemism C. p. erythropus (Cpe) and the subspecies C. p. parallelus (Cpp), widely distributed throughout the rest of Europe, overlap and form the Pyrenean HZ. Both subspeciesdiffer morphologically, as well as in behavioral, mitochondrial, nuclear, and chromosomal traits, and in the strains of the maternally transmitted bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia infecting them. This results in either unidirectional and bidirectional cytoplasmic incom-patibility between both grasshopper subspecies, pointing out that Wolbachia clearly affects gene expression in the infected individuals. Here we explore how Wolbachia may modify the expression of some major genes involved in relevant pathways in Cpp in the Pyrenean HZ. We have analyzed, through molecular biomarkers, the physiological response sin C. parallelus individuals infected by Wolbachia, with particular attention to the energy metabolism, the immune system response, and the reproduction. qPCR was used to evaluate the expression of selected genes in the gonads of infected and uninfected adults of both sexes, since this tissue constitutes the main target of Wolbachia infection. Transcrip-tional analyses also showed differential sex-dependent responses in most of the analyzedbiomarkers in infected and noninfected individuals. We identified for the first time newsensitive biomarkers that might be involved in the reproductive barrier induced by Wol-bachia in the hybrid zone