Rapid evolution of an adaptive taste polymorphism disrupts courtship behavior
Cockroach strainsAll cockroaches were maintained on rodent diet (Purina 5001, PMI Nutrition International, St. Louis, MO) and distilled water at 27â°C, ~40% RH, and a 12:12âhâL:D cycle. The WT colony (Orlando Normal) was collected in Florida in 1947 and has served as a standard insecticide-susceptible strain. The GA colony (T-164) was collected in 1989, also in Florida, and shown to be aversive to glucose; continued artificial selection with glucose-containing toxic bait fixed the homozygous GA trait in this population (approximately 150 generations as of 2020).Generating recombinant lines and life history dataTo homogenize the genetic backgrounds of the WT and GA strains, two recombinant colonies were initiated in 2013 by crossing 10 pairs of WTâ Ă GAâ and 10 pairs of GAâ Ă WTâ (Fig. 3a). At the F8 generation (free bulk mating without selection), 400 cockroaches were tested in two-choice feeding assays (see below) that assessed their initial response to tastants, as described in previous studies11,26. The cockroaches were separated into glucose-accepting and glucose-rejecting groups by the rapid Acceptance-Rejection assay (described in Feeding Bioassays). These colonies were bred for three more generations, and 200 cockroaches from each group were assayed in the F11 generation and backcrossed to obtain homozygous glucose-accepting (aa) and glucose-averse (AA) lines. Similar results were obtained in both directions of the cross, confirming previous findings of no sex linkage of the GA trait27. These two lines were defined as WT_aa (homozygotes, glucose-accepting) and GA_AA (homozygotes, glucose-averse). To obtain heterozygous GA cockroaches, GA_Aa, a single intercross group was generated from crosses of 10 pairs of WT_aaâ Ă GA_AAâ and 10 pairs of GA_AAâ Ă WT_aaâ.The GA trait follows Mendelian inheritance. Therefore, we used backcrosses, guided by two-choice feeding assays and feeding responses in Acceptance-rejection assays, to determine the homozygosity of WT and GA cockroaches. The cross of WTâ Ă WTâ produced homozygous F1 cockroaches showing maximal glucose-acceptance. The cross of GAâ Ă GAâ produced homozygous F1 cockroaches showing maximal glucose-aversion. The cross of WT Ă GA produced F1 heterozygotes with intermediate glucose-aversion. When the F1 heterozygotes were backcrossed with WT cockroaches, they produced F2 cockroaches with a 1:1 ratio of WT and GA phenotypes.The two-choice feeding assay assessed whether cockroaches accepted or rejected glucose (binary: yes-no). Insects were held for 24âh without water, or starved without food and water. Either 10 adults or 2 day-old first instar siblings (30â40) were placed in a Petri dish (either 90âmm or 60âmm diameterâĂâ15âmm height). Each Petri dish contained two agar discs: one disc contained 1% agar and 1âmmolâlâ1 red food dye (Allura Red AC), and the second disc contained 1% agar, 0.5âmmolâlâ1 blue food dye (Erioglaucine disodium salt) and either 1000âmmolâlâ1 or 3000âmmolâlâ1 glucose. The assay duration was 2âh during the dark phase of the insectsâ L:D cycle. After each assay, the color of the abdomen of each cockroach was visually inspected under a microscope to infer the genotype.We assessed whether the recombinant colonies had different traits from the parental WT and GA lines. We paired single newly eclosed females (day 0) with single 10â12 days-old males of the same line in a Petri dish (90âmm diameter, 15âmm height) with fresh distilled water in a 1.5âml microcentrifuge tube and a pellet of rodent food, and monitored when they mated. When females formed egg cases, each gravid female was placed individually in a container (95âĂâ95âĂâ80âmm) with food and water until the eggs hatched. After removing the female, her offspring were monitored until adult emergence. We recorded the time to egg hatch, first appearance of each nymphal stage, first appearance of adults and the end of adult emergence. The first instar nymphs and adults in each cohort were counted to obtain measures of survivorship. Although there were significant differences in some of these parameters across all four strains, we found no significant differences between the two recombinant lines, except mating success, which was significantly lower in GA_AAâ than WT_aaâ (Supplementary Table 11).Mating bioassaysAll mating sequences were recorded using an infra-red-sensitive camera (Polestar II EQ610, Everfocus Electronics, New Taipei City, Taiwan) coupled to a data acquisition board and analyzed by searchable and frame-by-frame capable software (NV3000, AverMedia Information) at 27â°C, ~40% RH and a 12:12âhâL:D cycle. For behavioral analysis, tested pairs were classified into two groups: mated (successful courtship) and not-mated (failed courtship). Four distinct behavioral events (Fig. 1c, Contact, Wing raising, Nuptial feeding, and Copulation) were analyzed using seven behavioral parameters as shown in Supplementary Table 2.We extracted behavioral data from successful courtship sequences, defined as courtship that led to Copulation. For failed courtship sequences, we extracted the behavioral data from the first courtship of both mated and not-mated groups, because most pairs in both groups failed to copulate in their first encounter, and there were no significant differences in behavioral parameters between the two groups.To assay female choice, we conducted two-choice mating assays (Fig. 1a). A single focal WTâ or GAâ and two males, one WT and one GA, were placed in a Petri dish (90âmm diameter, 15âmm height) with fresh distilled water in a 1.5âml microcentrifuge tube and a pellet of rodent food (nâ=â25 WTâ and 27 GAâ). To assay male choice, a single focal WTâ or GAâ was given a choice of two females, one WTâ and one GAâ (nâ=â27 WTâ and 18 GAâ). Experiments were started using 0 day-old sexually unreceptive females and 10â12 days-old sexually mature males. Newly emerged (0 day-old) females were used to avoid the disruption of introducing a sexually mature female into the bioassay. B. germanica females become sexually receptive at 5â7 days of age, so the mating behavior of the focal insect was video-recorded for several days until they mated. Fertility of mated females was evaluated by the number of offspring produced. We assessed the gustatory phenotype of nymphs (either WT-type or GA-type) to determine which of the two adult cockroaches mated with the focal insect. Each gravid female was maintained individually in a container (95âĂâ95âĂâ80âmm) with food and water until the eggs hatched. Two day-old first instar nymphs were starved for one day without water and food, and then they were tested in Two-choice feeding assays using 1000âmmolâlâ1 glucose-containing agar with 0.5âmmolâlâ1 blue food dye vs. plain sugar-free agar with 1âmmolâlâ1 red food dye. If all the nymphs chose the glucose-containing agar, their parents were considered WTâ and WTâ. When all the nymphs showed glucose-aversion, they were raised to the adult stage. Newly emerged adults were backcrossed with WT cockroaches, and their offspring were tested in the Two-choice assay. When the parents were both GA, 100% of the offspring exhibited glucose-aversion. When the parents were WT and GA, the offspring showed a 1:1 ratio of glucose-accepting and glucose-aversive behavior. Mate choice, mating success ratio and the number of offspring were analyzed statistically.We conducted no-choice mating assay using the WT and GA strains (Fig. 1b, d). A female and a male were placed in a Petri dish with fresh water and a piece of rodent food and video-recorded for 24âh. The females were 5â7 days-old and males were 10â12 days-old. Four treatment pairs were tested: WTâ Ă WTâ (nâ=â20, 18 and 14 pairs for 5, 6 and 7 day-old females, respectively); GAâ Ă GAâ (nâ=â23, 22 and 35 pairs); GAâ Ă WTâ (nâ=â21, 14 and 17 pairs); and WTâ Ă GAâ (nâ=â33, 19 and 15 pairs).To confirm that gustatory stimuli guide nuptial feeding, we artificially augmented the male nuptial secretion and assessed whether the duration of nuptial feeding and mating success of GAâ were affected (Fig. 2c). Before starting the mating assay with 5 day-old GAâ, 10â12 days-old WTâ were separated into three groups: A control group did not receive any augmentation; A water control group received distilled water with 1âmmolâlâ1 blue dye (+Blue); A fructose group received 3000âmmolâlâ1 fructose solution with blue dye (+Blue+Fru). Approximately 50ânl of the test solution was placed into the tergal gland reservoirs using a glass microcapillary. No-choice mating assays were carried out for 24âh. nâ=â20â25 pairs for each treatment.We evaluated the association of short nuptial feeding (Fig. 1c) and the GA trait we conducted no-choice mating assays using females from the recombinant lines (Fig. 3c). Before starting each mating assay with 4 day-old females from the WT, GA and recombinant lines (WT_aa, GA_AA and GA_Aa), the EC50 for glucose was obtained by the instantaneous Acceptance-Rejection assay using 0, 10, 30, 100, 300, 1000 and 3000âmmolâlâ1 glucose (WTâ and WT_aaâ, non-starved; GAâ, GA_AAâ and GA_Aaâ, 1-day starved). After the Acceptance-Rejection assay, GA_Aaâ were separated into two groups according to their sensitivity for rejecting glucose; the GA_Aa_high sensitivity group rejected glucose at 100 and 300âmmolâlâ1, whereas the GA_Aa_low sensitivity group rejected glucose at 1000 and 3000âmmolâlâ1. We paired these females with 10â12 days-old WTâ (nâ=â15 WT_aaâ, nâ=â20 GA_AAâ, nâ=â20 GA_Aa_highâ and nâ=â17 GA_Aa_lowâ).Feeding bioassayWe conducted two feeding assays: Acceptance-Rejection assay and Consumption assay. The Acceptance-Rejection assay assessed the instantaneous initial responses (binary: yes-no) of cockroaches to tastants, as previously described7,22,27. Briefly, acceptance means that the cockroach started drinking. Rejection means that the cockroach never initiated drinking. The percentage of positive responders was defined as the Number of insects accepting tastants/Total number of insects tested. The effective concentration (EC50) for each tastant was obtained from dose-response curves using this assay. The Consumption assay was previously described27. Briefly, we quantified the amount of test solution females ingested after they started drinking. Females were observed until they stopped drinking, and we considered this a single feeding bout.We used the Acceptance-Rejection assay and Consumption assay, respectively, to assess the sensitivity of 5 day-old WTâ and GAâ for accepting and consuming the WTâ nuptial secretion (Fig. 2a, b). The secretion was diluted with HPLC-grade water to 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3 and 1 male-equivalents/Âľl (nâ=â20 non-starved females each). The amount of nuptial secretion consumed was tested at 0.1 male-equivalents/Âľl in the Consumption assay (nâ=â10 each).The Acceptance-Rejection assay was used to calculate the effective concentration (EC50) of glucose for females in the WT, GA and recombinant lines (Fig. 3a, b). A glucose concentration series of 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1000âmmolâlâ1 was tested with one-day starved 4-day old females (nâ=â65 GA_Aaâ, nâ=â50 GA_AAâ and nâ=â50 GAâ) and non-starved females (nâ=â50 WT_aaâ and nâ=â16 WTâ).The effects of female saliva on feeding responses of 5 day-old WTâ and GAâ were tested using the Acceptance-Rejection assay (Fig. 4a). Freshly collected saliva of WTâ and GAâ was immediately used in experiments. Assays were prepared as follows: 3âÂľl of 200âmmolâlâ1 maltose or maltotriose were mixed with 3âÂľl of either HPLC-grade water or saliva of WTâ or GAâ. The final concentration of each sugar was 100âmmolâlâ1 in a total volume of 6âÂľl. This concentration represented approximately the acceptance EC70 for WTâ and GAâ27. Nuptial secretion (1âÂľl representing 10 male-equivalents) was mixed with 1âÂľl of either HPLC-grade water or saliva from WTâ or GAâ, and 8âÂľl of HPLC-grade water was added to the mix. The final concentration of the nuptial secretion was 1 male-equivalent/Âľl in a total volume of 10âÂľl. This concentration also represented approximately the acceptance EC70 for WTâ and GAâ (Fig. 2a). The mix of saliva and either sugar or nuptial secretion was incubated for 300âs at 25â°C. Additionally, we tested the effect of only saliva in the Acceptance-Rejection assay. Either 1-day starved or non-starved females were tested with water only and then a 1:1 mixture of saliva and water. Saliva alone did not affect acceptance or rejection of stimuli. nâ=â20â33 females from each strain.To evaluate whether salivary enzymes are involved in the hydrolysis of oligosaccharides, the contribution of salivary glucosidases was tested using the glucosidase inhibitor acarbose in the Acceptance-Rejection assay (Fig. 4b), as previously described27. We first confirmed that the range of 0â125âmmolâlâ1 acarbose in HPLC-grade water did not disrupt the acceptance and rejection of tastants. Test solutions were prepared as follows: 2âÂľl of either HPLC-grade water or saliva of GAâ was mixed with 1âÂľl of either 250âÂľmolâlâ1 of acarbose or HPLC-grade water, then the mixture was added to 1âÂľl of 400âmmolâlâ1 of either maltose or maltotriose solution. The total volume was 4âÂľl, with the final concentration of sugar being 100âmmolâlâ1. For assays with nuptial secretion, 1âÂľl of either HPLC-grade water or saliva from 5 day-old GAâ was mixed with 0.5âÂľl of either 250âÂľmolâlâ1 of acarbose or HPLC-grade water. This mixture was added to 0.5âÂľl of 10 male-equivalents of nuptial secretion (i.e., 20 male-equivalents/Âľl). HPLC-grade water was added for a total volume of 10âÂľl and a final concentration of 1 male-equivalent/Âľl. The mix of saliva and either sugars or nuptial secretion was incubated for 5âmin at 25â°C. All test solutions contained blue food dye. Test subjects were 5 day-old GAâ and 20â25 females were tested in each assay.Nuptial secretion and saliva collectionsThe nuptial secretion of WTâ was collected by the following method: Five 10â12 days-old males were placed in a container (95âĂâ95âĂâ80âmm) with 5 day-old GAâ. After the males displayed wing-raising courtship behavior toward the females, individual males were immediately decapitated and the nuptial secretion in their tergal gland reservoirs was drawn into a calibrated borosilicate glass capillary (76âĂâ1.5âmm) under the microscope. The nuptial secretions from 30 males were pooled in a capillary and stored at â20â°C until use. Saliva from 5 day-old WTâ and GAâ was collected by the following method: individual females were briefly anesthetized with carbon dioxide under the microscope and the side of the thorax was gently squeezed. A droplet of saliva that accumulated on the mouthparts was then collected into a microcapillary (10âÂľl, Kimble Glass). Fresh saliva was immediately used in experiments.GC-MS procedures for analysis of sugarsStandards of D-(â+â)-glucose (Sigma-Aldrich), D-(â+â)-maltose (Fisher Scientific) and maltotriose (Sigma-Aldrich) were diluted in HPLC-grade water (Fisher Scientific) at 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000âng/Âľl to generate calibration curves. Samples were vortexed for 20âs and a 10âÎźl aliquot of each sample was transferred to a Pyrex reaction vial containing a 10âÎźl solution of 5âng/Îźl sorbitol (âĽ98%) in HPLC-grade water as internal standard and dried under a gentle flow of N2 for 20âmin.Samples containing degradation products from nuptial secretions were prepared by adding 15âÎźl of HPLC-water to each sample in a 1.5âml Eppendorf tube, vortexed for 30âs and centrifuged at 8000ârpm (5223 RCF) for 5âmin to separate lipids from the water layer. The water phase was transferred to a reaction vial using a glass capillary. This procedure was repeated with the remaining lipid layer and the water layers were combined in the same reaction vial containing 10âÎźl of a solution of 5âng/Îźl sorbitol and dried under N2 for 20âmin.For derivatization of sugars and samples, each reaction vial received 12âÎźl of anhydrous pyridine under a constant N2 flow, then vortexed and incubated at 90â°C for 5âmin. Three Îźl of N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA; Sigma-Aldrich) was added to each reaction vial and centrifuged at 1000ârpm (118 RCF) for 2âmin. Vials were incubated in a heat block at 90â°C for 1.5âhr and vortexed every 10âmin for the first 30âmin of incubation.The total volume of sample was ~10âÎźl, and 1âÎźl was injected into the GC-MS (6890 GC coupled to a 5975 MS, Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA). The inlet was operated in splitless mode (17.5âpsi) at 290â°C. The GC was equipped with a DB-5 column (30âm, 0.25âmm, 0.25 Îźm, Agilent), and helium was used as the carrier gas at an average velocity of 50âcm/s. The oven temperature program started at 80â°C for 1âmin, increased at 10â°C/min to 180â°C, then increased at 5â°C/min to 300â°C, and held for 10âmin. The transfer line was set at 250â°C for 24âmin, ramped at 5â°C/min to 300â°C and held until the end of program. The ion source operated at 70âeV and 230â°C, while the MS quadrupole was maintained at 200â°C. The MSD was operated in scan mode, starting after 9âmin (solvent delay time) with a mass range of 33â650âAMU.For GC-MS data analysis, the sorbitol peak area was obtained from the extracted ion chromatograms with m/zâ=â205, the sorbitol base peak. The area of peaks of glucose, maltose and maltotriose were obtained from the extracted ion chromatograms using m/zâ=â204, the base peak of the three sugars. The most abundant peaks of each sugar were selected for quantification36, and these peaks did not coelute with other peaks. Then, the peak areas of the three sugars were divided by the area of the respective sorbitol peak in each sample to normalize the data and to correct technical variability during sample processing. This procedure was performed to obtain the calibration curves and quantification of sugars in our experiments.The results of sugar analysis using GC-MS are reported in Supplementary Figs. 1â4.Analysis of nuptial secretionsWe focused the GC-MS analysis on glucose, maltose and maltotriose in WTâ nuptial secretion (Fig. 4c). To quantify the time-course of saliva-catalyzed hydrolysis of WTâ nuptial secretion to glucose, 1âÂľl of GAâ saliva was mixed with 1âÂľl of 10 male-equivalents/Âľl. We incubated the mixtures for 0, 5, 10 and 300âs at 25â°C, and added 4âÂľl of methanol to stop the enzyme activity (nâ=â5 each treatment). Each sample contained the nuptial secretions of 5 males to obtain enough detectable amount of sugars. For the statistical analysis, the amounts of sugars were divided by 5 to obtain the amount of sugars in 1 male (1 male-equivalent). These amounts were also used for generating Fig. 4c and Supplementary Table 9. In calculations of the concentration of the three sugars (mmolâlâ1), the mass and volume of the nuptial secretion were measured using 70â130 male-equivalents of undiluted secretion of each strain (nâ=â3). The mass and volume of the nuptial secretion/male, including both lipid and aqueous layers, were approximately 30â50âÂľg and 40â50ânl. Because it was difficult to separate the lipid layer from the water layer at this small scale, we roughly estimated that the tergal reservoirs of the four cockroach lines had 30ânl of aqueous layer that contained sugars.To quantify the time-course of saliva-catalyzed hydrolysis of maltose and maltotriose to glucose, 1âÂľl of GAâ saliva was mixed with 1âÂľl of 200âmmolâlâ1 of either maltose or maltotriose (Fig. 4d, e). Incubation time points were 0, 5, 10 and 300âs at 25â°C and methanol was used to stop the enzyme activity. Controls without saliva were also prepared using HPLC-grade water instead of saliva and 300âs incubations. nâ=â5 for each treatment.PhotomicroscopyThe photographs of the tergal glands and mouthparts (Fig. 5) were obtained using an Olympus Digital camera attached to an Olympus CX41 microscope (Olympus America, Center Valley, PA).Statistics and reproducibilityThe sample size and number of replicates for each experiment are noted in the respective section describing the experimental details. In summary, the samples sizes were: Mating bioassays, nâ=â18â80; Feeding assays, nâ=â16â65; Sugar analysis, nâ=â5; Life history parameters, nâ >â14. All statistical analyses were conducted in R Statistical Software (v4.1.0; R Core Team 2021) and JMP Pro 15.2 software (SAS Institute Inc., Carey, NC). For bioassay data and sugar analysis data, we calculated the means and standard errors, and we used the Chi-square test with Holmâs method for post hoc comparisons, t-test, and ANOVA followed by Tukeyâs HSD test (all Îąâ=â0.05), as noted in each section describing the experimental details, results, and in Supplementary Tables 1â11.Reporting summaryFurther information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article. More