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Dryad

Annotation and evolutionary analysis of chemosensory gene sequence data in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata

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Apr 07, 2021 version files 71.83 MB
Jul 28, 2023 version files 60.29 MB
Oct 05, 2023 version files 60.30 MB
Oct 25, 2023 version files 60.66 MB

Abstract

Plants and plant-feeding insects comprise the majority of global species diversity, and their coevolutionary dynamics provide an important window into the mechanisms that mediate niche evolution. In particular, there is considerable interest in understanding the nature of genetic changes that allow host-plant shifts to occur and to determine whether functional genomic diversity varies predictably in relation to host-plant breadth. Insect chemosensory proteins play a central role in mediating insect-plant interactions, as they directly influence plant detection and sensory stimuli during feeding. This large group of gene families is known to evolve rapidly, yet it remains unclear how these genes evolve in response to host-shifts and host specialization. Here we investigate whether selection at chemosensory genes is linked to host-plant expansion in the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and whether rates of selection vary among ten closely related Leptinotarsa species. To develop functional hypotheses of chemosensory genes involved in the detection of potato host-plants, we combine gene expression analysis of the antennae and maxillary-labial palps using RNA sequencing with genomic evidence of natural selection. We show that expression of chemosensory genes differs among pest populations of Leptinotarsa decemlineata and numerous genes are under positive selection. We also find that rates of positive selection on olfactory receptors are higher in host-plant generalists, whereas rates are higher for gustatory receptors and olfactory binding proteins in host-plant specialists.