科普知识学英语 生与死的遗传是一场进化竞赛.docVIP

Scientists at The University of Manchester have found evidence of the genetic basis of the evolutionary arms-race between?parasitoids（拟寄生）?and their?aphid（蚜虫）?hosts. The researchers studied the reaction of aphids when a parasitic wasp with genetic variation laid eggs in them. They found that different genotypes of the wasp affected where the aphids went to die, including whether they left the plant host entirely. The team also found an example of the emergence of a shared?phenotype（表型）?that was partly wasp and partly aphid. ? Dr Mouhammad Shadi Khudr, a visiting scientist at the Faculty of Life Sciences, led the research: Natural selection on the aphid prey depends not only on aphid genes, but also on the genetics of the parasitic wasp. The indirect genetic effects underlying the relationship between natural enemies have been rarely shown, especially when they arise between species. Parasite-manipulation is endlessly fascinating, albeit with a somewhat ghoulish quality! This study sheds light on how genetic variation can influence that manipulation. ? The researchers began the study by breeding 13 males with 3 females of the wasp Aphidius ervi, through which a quantitative genetic design was created. The resulting offspring of full and half siblings provided a basis of genetic variation in the parasitic wasp to test how different individuals of the latter are associated with variation in the aphids behaviour when aphids are prone to the wasps manipulation. One genotype of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum was chosen. Since this species reproduces asexually by parthenogenesis, the resulting genetically identical individuals make up a specific type of colony known as clone. ? The team then introduced the wasps into 156 cages that contained a broad bean plant and an aphid colony. They then compared the behaviour of aphids in the presence and absence of the wasp by monitoring what the aphids did over the next ten days. Successful?parasitism（寄生状态）?ends with the death