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Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species

Many insects, including several orthopterans, undergo dramatic changes in body coloration during ontogeny. This variation is particularly intriguing in gomphocerine grasshoppers, where the green and brown morphs appear to be genetically determined (Schielzeth & Dieker, 2020, BMC Evolutionary Bio...

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Autores principales: Varma, Mahendra, Winter, Gabe, Rowland, Hannah M., Schielzeth, Holger
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10620580/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37928193
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10712
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author Varma, Mahendra
Winter, Gabe
Rowland, Hannah M.
Schielzeth, Holger
author_facet Varma, Mahendra
Winter, Gabe
Rowland, Hannah M.
Schielzeth, Holger
author_sort Varma, Mahendra
collection PubMed
description Many insects, including several orthopterans, undergo dramatic changes in body coloration during ontogeny. This variation is particularly intriguing in gomphocerine grasshoppers, where the green and brown morphs appear to be genetically determined (Schielzeth & Dieker, 2020, BMC Evolutionary Biology, 20, 63; Winter et al., 2021, Heredity, 127, 66). A better understanding of how these color morphs develop during ontogeny can provide valuable insights into the evolution and ecology of such a widespread color polymorphism. Here, we focus on the color development of two green–brown polymorphic species, the club‐legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus and the steppe grasshopper Chorthippus dorsatus. By following the color development of individuals from hatching to adulthood, we found that color morph differences begin to develop during the second nymphal stage, are clearly defined by the third nymphal stage, and remain stable throughout the life of an individual. Interestingly, we also observed that shed skins of late nymphal stages are identifiable by color morphs based on their yellowish coloration, rather than the green that marks green body parts. Furthermore, by assessing how these colors are perceived by different visual systems, we found that certain potential predators can chromatically discriminate between morphs, while others may not. These results suggest that the putative genes controlling color morph are active during the early stages of ontogeny, and that green color is likely composed of two components, one present in the cuticle and one not. In addition, the effectiveness of camouflage appears to vary depending on the specific predator involved.
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spelling pubmed-106205802023-11-03 Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species Varma, Mahendra Winter, Gabe Rowland, Hannah M. Schielzeth, Holger Ecol Evol Research Articles Many insects, including several orthopterans, undergo dramatic changes in body coloration during ontogeny. This variation is particularly intriguing in gomphocerine grasshoppers, where the green and brown morphs appear to be genetically determined (Schielzeth & Dieker, 2020, BMC Evolutionary Biology, 20, 63; Winter et al., 2021, Heredity, 127, 66). A better understanding of how these color morphs develop during ontogeny can provide valuable insights into the evolution and ecology of such a widespread color polymorphism. Here, we focus on the color development of two green–brown polymorphic species, the club‐legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus and the steppe grasshopper Chorthippus dorsatus. By following the color development of individuals from hatching to adulthood, we found that color morph differences begin to develop during the second nymphal stage, are clearly defined by the third nymphal stage, and remain stable throughout the life of an individual. Interestingly, we also observed that shed skins of late nymphal stages are identifiable by color morphs based on their yellowish coloration, rather than the green that marks green body parts. Furthermore, by assessing how these colors are perceived by different visual systems, we found that certain potential predators can chromatically discriminate between morphs, while others may not. These results suggest that the putative genes controlling color morph are active during the early stages of ontogeny, and that green color is likely composed of two components, one present in the cuticle and one not. In addition, the effectiveness of camouflage appears to vary depending on the specific predator involved. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2023-11-02 /pmc/articles/PMC10620580/ /pubmed/37928193 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10712 Text en © 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Varma, Mahendra
Winter, Gabe
Rowland, Hannah M.
Schielzeth, Holger
Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title_full Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title_fullStr Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title_full_unstemmed Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title_short Ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
title_sort ontogeny of color development in two green–brown polymorphic grasshopper species
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10620580/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37928193
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10712
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