Data and code from: Mating triggers a physiological switch to reproduction in field crickets to mitigate the flight-oogenesis tradeoff
Data files
Sep 24, 2026 version files 3.14 MB
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figure_1_analysis.ipynb
508 KB
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figure_1.csv
10.56 KB
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figure_2_analysis_python.ipynb
405.59 KB
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figure_2_analysis_r.R
13.77 KB
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figure_2.csv
3.25 KB
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figure_3_analysis_r.R
40.48 KB
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figure_3._analysis_python.ipynb
698.14 KB
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figure_3.csv
6.09 KB
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figure_4_analysis.ipynb
694.42 KB
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figure_4.csv
4.69 KB
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figure_5_analysis_python.ipynb
380.66 KB
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figure_5_analysis.R
3.66 KB
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figure_5.csv
156.67 KB
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README.md
11.46 KB
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supp_figure_5_analysis.ipynb
204.91 KB
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supp_figure_5.csv
714 B
Abstract
Organisms must reallocate limited resources to meet changing physiological demands, yet the cues that trigger these shifts and the physiological programs that mediate them remain poorly understood. For example, in some winged animals, females cannot simultaneously invest in energetically expensive flight musculature and egg production, requiring physiological transitions between dispersal and reproductive phases of their life cycle (the flight-oogenesis trade-off). However, the mechanisms that allow individuals to transition between dispersal and reproductive states remain unclear. Here, we test whether mating acts as a key external cue that reprograms internal resource allocation from somatic maintenance to reproduction. Using the wing-dimorphic California variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, we show that mating initiates flight muscle histolysis in long-winged females, eliminating any delay in early-life fecundity. Mating activates transcriptional programs associated with autophagy, iron mobilization, and endocrine signaling, consistent with a coordinated physiological shift that redirects nutrients from flight tissues to oogenesis. These mating-induced changes include altered insulin-like peptide and juvenile hormone signaling, suggesting that conserved hormonal pathways may be repurposed to govern life-history transitions. Together, our findings reveal that mating can serve as a potent trigger for reorganizing nutrient use and physiological priorities, enabling organisms to minimize the reproductive costs of non-reproductive states. By identifying a socially derived cue that initiates state transitions, this work provides a mechanistic framework for understanding how reproductive behaviors drive life-history strategies, and challenges long-standing assumptions about the inherent costs of dispersal.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.brv15dvqq
Description of the data and file structure
To determine if long-winged females display a reproductive cost of flight, we compared the egg laying and hatchling dynamics of mated long-winged and short-winged females. Finally, to explore potential mechanisms linking mating status with synchronized histolysis and ovarian development, we measured the expression pattern of genes involved in endocrine biosynthesis, histolysis, and nutrient recycling. We show that mating initiates flight muscle histolysis in long-winged females, eliminating any delay in early life fecundity.
Files and variables
File: figure_1.csv
Description: Quantified muscle color with blue, red, and green channel pixel intensity of long-winged and short-winged females across mating states (virgin or mated) along with ovary mass and body size metrics
Variables
- cricket_id: unique number given to each cricket in the experiment
- mean_b: average pixel intensity in the blue channel for each flight muscle
- mean_g: average pixel intensity in the green channel for each flight muscle
- mean_r: average pixel intensity in the red channel for flight each muscle
- morph: wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- mating_status: virgin or mated
- femur_length: the length of the femur, a proxy of body size (in micrometers)
- ovary_mass_mg: mass of the ovary (in mg)
- muscle_color: qualitative muscle color recorded by an observer. Muscle color was classified into four categories: red, pink, white, and white+. White+ was reported when muscle was predominantly white but had begun to break down, resulting in some regions becoming translucent or transparent
File: figure_2.csv
Description: Temporal dynamics of egg laying for mated long-winged and short-winged females
Variables
- cricket_id: unique number given to each cricket in the experiment
- morph: wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- 2: day 2 of egg laying
- 3: day 3 of egg laying
- 4: day 4 of egg laying
- 5: day 5 of egg laying
- 6: day 6 of egg laying
- 7: day 7 of egg laying
- 8: day 8 of egg laying
- 9: day 9 of egg laying
- 10: day 10 of egg laying
- 11: day 11 of egg laying
- 12: day 12 of egg laying
- 13: day 13 of egg laying
- 14: day 14 of egg laying
- whole_body_mass: body mass of cricket in mg
- initial_day: day (2-14) that females started laying eggs
File: figure_4.csv
Description: Mating receptivity of long-winged and short-winged crickets across the first nine days of adulthood, along with associated ovary mass and body size metrics
Variables
- age: number of days into adulthood (1-9)
- female_morph: wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- number_call_bouts: number of courtship calls male produced during observation period
- cop: Binary output if copulation occurred (0 = no copulation, 1 = copulation)
- ovary_mass_mg: ovary mass (in mg)
- pronotum_width: pronotum width, proxy of boy size (in micrometers)
File: supp_figure_5.csv
Description: Mating receptivity and hatchling production of long-winged and short-winged females from the feild
Variables
- pair_id: unique number given to each cricket in the experiment
- morph: wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- cop: Binary output if copulation occurred (0 = no copulation, 1 = copulation)
- hatchling: total number of hatchlings (offspring) produced
File: figure_3.csv
Description: Temporal dynamics of hatchling production for mated long-winged and short-winged females
Variables
- cricket_id: unique number given to each cricket in the experiment
- female_morph: female wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- male_morph: male wing morph (long-winged or short-winged)
- day_17: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_18: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_19: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_20: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_21: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_22: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_23: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_24: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_25: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_26: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_27: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_28: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_29: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_30: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_31: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_32: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_33: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_34: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_35: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_36: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_37: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_38: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_39: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- day_40: the number of hatchlings that emerged on this day
- total: total amount of hatchlings (sum of day columns)
- body_mass: body mass (in mg)
- femur_length: femur length, proxy of body size (in micrometers)
- percent_hatched: percent of eggs that hatched
File: figure_5.csv
Description: Transcript abundance of genes across ages and mating statuses. There are some cells within this file that report "n/a". These cells are not missing data. Rather, they indicate that the corresponding variable was calculated as part of a virgin-only analysis, examining changes in gene expression with age (2, 3, and 4 days) independent of mating status. Because mated females were excluded from this analysis, these columns are not applicable to mated individuals and are therefore reported as n/a.
Variables
- target_gene: name of gene associated with quantified gene expression
- tissue: tissue used from RNA extraction: brain, dlm (flight muscle), ovary, fat body
- sample: unique number given to each cricket in the experiment
- day: age of cricket, number of days in adulthood (2, 3 or 4)
- muscle_color: qualitative color (observer based) of the flight muscle. Muscle color was classified into three categories: red, pink, or white.
- function: muscle state, functional (f) or nonfunctional (n)
- cop_status: copulation status (virgin, mated once, or mated twice)
- group: identity that combines age, mating status, and muscle functional state
- group_simple: identity that combines age, mating status, and muscle functional state, used for analysis
- gene_tissue: combines target gene and tissue used for RNA extraction, used for plotting
- target_gene_cq: quantification cycle number for the target gene, a raw qPCR metric
- reference_gene_1_name: name of one of the reference (housekeeping) gene, used to normalize gene expression for the target gene
- reference_gene_2_name: name of one of the other reference (housekeeping) gene, used to normalize gene expression for the target gene
- reference_gene_1_cq: quantification cycle number for reference gene 1, a raw qPCR metric
- reference_gene_2_cq: quantification cycle number for reference gene 2, a raw qPCR metric
- delta_delta_ct: calculated parameter in qPCR used to determine the relative fold change in gene expression, normalized to a reference gene
- fold_change: the relative change in expression of a target gene normalized to a reference gene
- fold_change_graph: fold change for plots, controls (same day virgins) set to 1
- control_delta_delta_ct: delta delta ct for day 3 and day 4 virgins, normalized to day 2 virgins, used to assess the changes in gene expression over time. Because mated females were excluded from this analysis, these columns are not applicable to mated individuals and are therefore reported as n/a.
- control_fold_change: the relative change in expression of a target gene normalized to a reference gene used to assess the changes in gene expression over time. Because mated females were excluded from this analysis, these columns are not applicable to mated individuals and are therefore reported as n/a.
- control_fold_change_graph: fold change for plots, controls (day 2 virgins) set to 1. Because mated females were excluded from this analysis, these columns are not applicable to mated individuals and are therefore reported as n/a.
File: figure_1_analysis.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 1, exploring the relationship of muscle color and ovary mass in virgin and mated females.
File: figure_2_analysis_python.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 2, exploring the temporal dynamics of egg laying and total egg production in mated long-winged and short-winged females.
File: figure_2_analysis_r.R
Description: R code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 2, exploring the temporal dynamics of egg laying and total egg production in mated long-winged and short-winged females.
File: figure_3_analysis_r.R
Description: R code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 3, exploring the temporal dynamics of hatchling production and total hatchling counts in mated long-winged and short-winged females.
File: figure_3._analysis_python.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 3, exploring the temporal dynamics of hatchling production and total hatchling counts in mated long-winged and short-winged females.
File: figure_4_analysis.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 4, exploring the relationship of ovary mass and age with mating receptivity in long-winged and short-winged females.
File: figure_5_analysis.R
Description: R code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 5, exploring the changes in gene expression in the brain, flight muscle, ovary, and fat body of long-winged females across time and mating status.
File: figure_5_analysis_python.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in figure 5, exploring the changes in gene expression in the brain, flight muscle, ovary, and fat body of long-winged females across time and mating status.
File: supp_figure_5_analysis.ipynb
Description: Python code used for data analysis and visualization in supplemental figure 5, quantifying the mating receptivity and hatchling production of field caught long-winged and short-winged female crickets.
Code/software
We completed statistical analysis with Python in a JupyterLab Notebook (version 3.6.3) using the pandas, numpy, scipy sklearn, and statsmodel packages or with R (version 2024.12.1+563) using tidyverse, lme4, mgcv, betareg, rstatix, emmeans, and multcomp packages. Data was visualized with Python in a JupyterLab Notebook the matplotlib and seaborn packages and diagnostic plots were generated in R using the DHARMa package as well as the plot function of the corresponding analysis package.