Our lab has been collaborating with Fred Gould's and Astrid Groot's labs to understand the chemical ecology of two closely related moth species that can be hybridized, Heliothis virescens and H. subflexa.
Most night-flying moth species locate mates through production of, and response to, a very precise blend of volatile chemical compounds. Within a population, females with atypical blends are less attractive to males than females with the population's common blend. Similarly, rare males that respond to atypical blends are expected to be at a disadvantage in finding mates. The genes that control pheromone blend ratios appear to not be linked to, or affect male response, so mutations that cause changes in each of the two components of communication are expected to arise independently. We have been examining pheromone blend ratios and male responses by moving sexual communication genes between the two species. Molecular markers developed in the Gould lab are used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control the relative concentration of a number of female pheromone components and male responses that differ between the two species. By use of repeated backcrossing we have created strains that are largely genetically identical to one species, but express pheromone production alleles from the other species. Astrid Groot is testing these lines for mating success with the parental lines. Our long-term goal is to determine the impacts of single genetic changes on sexual communication.
Recent Collaborations:
Astrid Groot
Fred Gould
Supported by:
National Science Foundation - Population Biology
US Department of Agriculture - National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program
Blanton J. Whitmire Endowment