Gall-inducing insects – Nature's most sophisticated herbivores
TL;DR: D.J. Shorthouse, A. Raman, and D.D. Wool are among the artists whose work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City this year.
About: This article is published in Basic and Applied Ecology.The article was published on 2005-10-14. It has received 215 citations till now.
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TL;DR: Key plant functions targeted by various plant reprogrammers, including plant-manipulating insects and nematodes, are reviewed, and insect herbivore-derived effectors are functionally characterized to provide a broader understanding of possible mechanisms used in host-plant manipulation.
169 citations
Cites background from "Gall-inducing insects – Nature's mo..."
...1) (Mani, 1964; Shorthouse and Rohfritsch, 1992; Shorthouse et al., 2005a; Stone and Schönrogge, 2003)....
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...We do know that maternal oviposition can be highly site specific – in the case of rose gallwasps, to particular leaves in a rose bud (Shorthouse et al., 2005b)....
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...Gall-inducers manipulation of host-plant development results in complex tissue reorganization, sometimes effectively resulting in new plant organs (Mani, 1964; Harper et al., 2004; Rohfritsch, 1992; Shorthouse et al., 2005a)....
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TL;DR: It is concluded that gall morphotypes associated with information on the host plant species and attacked organs are reliable surrogates of the gall-inducing species.
Abstract: Despite the speciose fauna of gall-inducing insects in the Neotropical region, little is known about their taxonomy. On the other hand, gall morphotypes associated with host species have been extensively used as a surrogate of the inducer species worldwide. This study reviewed the described gall midges and their galls to test the generalization on the use of gall morphotypes as surrogates of gall midge species in the Brazilian fauna. We compiled taxonomic and biological data for 196 gall midge species recorded on 128 host plant species. Ninety two percent of those species were monophagous, inducing galls on a single host plant species, whereas only 5.6% species were oligophagous, inducing galls on more than one congeneric host plant species. Only four species induced galls on more than one host plant genus. We conclude that gall morphotypes associated with information on the host plant species and attacked organs are reliable surrogates of the gall-inducing species.
143 citations
TL;DR: It is predicted that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a role in gall induction, development and histochemical gradient formation and activity of carbohydrate-related enzymes across diverse galls corroborates this hypothesis.
125 citations
Cites background from "Gall-inducing insects – Nature's mo..."
...Whether there are unifying features of galls and gall induction has been debated for many years (e.g., Mani 1964; Price et al., 1987; Hartley 1998; Stone and Schönrogge 2003; Shorthouse et al., 2005; Raman 2011; Isaias and Oliveira 2012)....
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...…biochemical and physiological features have prompted some authors to view complex insect-induced galls as entirely new and unique plant organs because they have diverged so dramatically from the normal trajectory of host plant development (e.g. Shorthouse et al., 2005; Oliveira and Isaias 2010a)....
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...These remarkable changes in plant development provide evidence that gall-inducing insects are among the Earth’s most sophisticated herbivores (Shorthouse et al., 2005)....
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TL;DR: Cospeciation analyses between figs of section Galoglychia and some of their associated fig wasps show that, although host switches and duplication have evidently played a role in the construction of the current associations, the global picture is one of significant cospeciation throughout the evolution of these communities.
Abstract: The study of chalcid wasps that live within syconia of fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), provides a unique opportunity to investigate the evolution of specialized communities of insects. By conducting cospeciation analyses between figs of section Galoglychia and some of their associated fig wasps, we show that, although host switches and duplication have evidently played a role in the construction of the current associations, the global picture is one of significant cospeciation throughout the evolution of these communities. Contrary to common belief, nonpollinating wasps are at least as constrained as pollinators by their host association in their diversification in this section. By adapting a randomization test in a supertree context, we further confirm that wasp phylogenies are significantly congruent with each other, and build a “wasp community” supertree that retrieves Galoglychia taxonomic subdivisions. Altogether, these results probably reflect wasp host specialization but also, to some extent, they might indicate that niche saturation within the fig prevents recurrent intrahost speciation and host switching. Finally, a comparison of ITS2 sequence divergence of cospeciating pairs of wasps suggests that the diversification of some pollinating and nonpollinating wasps of Galoglychia figs has been synchronous but that pollinating wasps exhibit a higher rate of molecular evolution.
102 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This review brings into focus several biological, ecological, and evolutionary questions that remain unanswered in the background of what a gall is, how galls are initiated and what factors trigger gall growth, and biogeographical patterns in the distribution of gall-susceptible plants vis-a-vis gall-inducing insects, referring specifically to the gall flora of the Indian subcontinent.
Abstract: With about 2000 different galls (implies that almost the same number of inducing-insect species exists), the Indian subcontinent displays a rich variety in gall flora. Gall-inducing insects of peninsular India are endemic, whereas those in the temperate Himalayan slopes and in the Indo-Gangetic plains show affinity to Central Asian and European gall-inducing elements. Fossil records indicate that galls existed in India from the late Cenozoic period. Throughout the Indian subcontinent, species richness in gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is almost uniform, inducing different types of galls, including the incredible 'cylinder-piston' gall, which, however, has been recorded only in the natural areas around Coimbatore. In the light of the global pattern, cecidomyiid-induced galls should be the major component in Indian gall flora, although much needs to be known about the identities of midges and the nature of galls they induce. Gall-inducing cynipids (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) and aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are restricted to the Himalayan slopes, whereas gall-inducing thrips (Thysanoptera) are confined to peninsular India. Against such a confusing but interesting distributional pattern, this review brings into focus several biological, ecological, and evolutionary questions that remain unanswered in the background of what a gall is, how galls are initiated and what factors trigger gall growth, what designs are evident among gall-inducing insects in terms of host dependence, and biogeographical patterns in the distribution of gall-susceptible plants vis-a-vis gall-inducing insects, referring specifically to the gall flora of the Indian subcontinent.
87 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: This chapter discusses the origins of ecological diversity and the ecological basis of speciation, as well as the progress of adaptive radiation and its role in ecology.
Abstract: 1. The origins of ecological diversity 2. Detecting adaptive radiation 3. The progress of adaptive radiation 4. The ecological theory of adaptive radiation 5. Divergent natural selection between environments 6. Divergence and species interactions 7. Ecological opportunity speciation 8. The ecological basis of speciation 9. Divergence along genetic lines of least resistance 10. The ecology of adaptive radiation
3,439 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the hypothesis that selection imposed by enemies remains the most probable adaptive explanation for the evolution of diversity in insect galls has yet to be tested explicitly, and the requirements for an appropriate cross-species analysis are discussed.
Abstract: Insect galls are dramatic examples of extended phenotypes: although composed of host plant tissues, their development is largely controlled by insect genes. Adaptive explanations for gall traits should thus be expressed in terms of impacts on insect fitness, but the extent to which interspecific variation in gall structure is adaptive, and the possible selective pressures driving diversification in gall form remain controversial. In colonial aphids and thrips, gall structures probably diversified in response to selection for enhancement of the surface area available for feeding. In other taxa, such as gall wasps and gall midges, diversity is expressed predominantly in non-nutritive tissues, particularly those on the gall surface. All natural enemies attack the occupants of closed galls by penetrating gall tissue, and modifications that reduce enemy attack rates should thus be favoured. Recent studies of intraspecific variation in gall form strongly support a defensive role for several traits, but, to date, there is little empirical support for enemies as a cause of interspecific variation in gall form. Selection imposed by enemies nevertheless remains the most probable adaptive explanation for the evolution of diversity. We suggest that this hypothesis has yet to be tested explicitly, and discuss the requirements for an appropriate cross-species analysis.
708 citations
TL;DR: An emerging theory of plant invasiveness based on biological characters has resulted in several rather robust predictions which are presented in this paper.
Abstract: Successful management of invasive weeds will require active attempts to prevent new introductions, vigilant detection of nascent populations and persistent efforts to eradicate the worst invaders. To achieve these objectives, invasion ecology offers five groups of complementary approaches. (i) Stochastic approaches allow probabilistic predictions about potential invaders based on initial population size, residence time and number of introduction attempts. (ii) Empirical taxon-specific approaches are based on previously documented invasions of particular taxa. (iii) Evaluations of the biological characters of non-invasive taxa and successful invaders give rise either to general or to habitat-specific screening procedures. (iv) Evaluation of environmental compatibility helps to predict whether a particular plant taxon can invade specific habitats. (v) Experimental approaches attempt to tease apart intrinsic and extrinsic factors underlying invasion success. An emerging theory of plant invasiveness based on biological characters has resulted in several rather robust predictions which are presented in this paper.
607 citations