10.5061/DRYAD.6796B9J
Mikó, István
Pennsylvania State University
Rahman, Sarthok Rasique
Pennsylvania State University
Anzaldo, Salvatore S.
Arizona State University
van de Kamp, Thomas
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Parslow, Ben A.
Flinders University
Tatarnic, Nikolai J.
Australian Museum
Wetherington, Maxwell T.
Pennsylvania State University
Anderson, Julie
Pennsylvania State University
Schilder, Rudolf J.
Pennsylvania State University
Ulmer, Jonah M.
Pennsylvania State University
Deans, Andrew R.
Pennsylvania State University
Hines, Heather M.
Pennsylvania State University
Data from: Fat in the leg: function of the expanded hind leg in
gasteruptiid wasps (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae)
Dryad
dataset
2019
Parasitoids
Ultrastructure
Cytology
Histology
Morphology & Evolution
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
DEB-1453473
2019-01-25T20:23:27Z
2019-01-25T20:23:27Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixy020
234855793 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Among some of the most unusual traits of the gasteruptiid wasps is their
unique hovering flight and the expansion of their hind tibiae. Tibial
expansions in female parasitoid hymenopterans often involve an enlarged
sensory structure for vibration detection, the subgenual organ, thus
enabling refined substrate-borne detection of concealed hosts. In the
present paper, we utilize a combination of microscopy, chemical analysis,
gene expression, and behavior to explore the function of the expanded hind
tibia of gasteruptiid wasps. We find that the expanded hind tibia of
gasteruptiids is filled largely with fat body, a cell cluster thought not
typically to occur in insect legs. Based on its position relative to
flexible tibial structures and the subgenual organ, the gasteruptiid
tibial fat body may function to amplify vibrational signals. We show the
tibial fat body to be filled with both trophocytes and, depending on
gasteruptiid lineage, oenocytes. Transcriptomics reveals enrichment for
fat-related genes more than expected in an insect leg and raises several
additional possibilities for functions of fat in the leg including
detoxification. Finally, our flight observations support the hypothesis
that this structure may also function in balance and maneuvering in the
unusual leg-dangling flight behavior of this wasp.
Supplementary Figures Tables and DocumentsSupplementary files figures and
tables.zipTranscriptome_Analysis_additional_filesSupplementary videos 1-7