Biology subjects

Facon, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Facon, B..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Core Bacterial and Host Fruit-Specific Yeast Microbiota in a Polyphagous Fly Pest

Holometabolous polyphagous insects undergo metamorphosis and exploit multiple host plants, exposing them to highly variable ecological conditions across both life stages and host plants. Whether these insects harbour a stable core microbiota, a life stage- or a host plant-specific microbiota remain open questions. Here, we characterised fungal and bacterial communities associated with Drosophila suzukii across life stages (larvae, pupae and emerging flies) and host fruits (cherry, blackberry and strawberry) using 16S and ITS metabarcoding. We tested the relative influence of life stage and host fruit on microbiota composition using community and network-based analyses. First, we identified that yeasts, but not bacteria, were strongly structured among host fruits. Bacteria and filamentous fungi were shared across fruits, constituting a fruit core microbiota dominated by Gluconobacter cerinus, Tatumella sp. and Cladosporium spp. In contrast, yeast were rather fruit-specific: Hanseniaspora and Pichia genera mostly associated with cherries and strawberries, contrary to Metschnikowia with blackberries. Second, we found that fungal, but not bacterial, communities of D. suzukii were structured among host fruits. D. suzukii harboured a core bacterial microbiota composed of G. cerinus and a niche-specific (host plant-specific) microbiota composed of yeasts: Hanseniaspora typical in individuals related to cherry and strawberry, and Metschnikowia to blackberry. We also verified that individuals from artificial laboratory infestations and natural field infestations harboured similar microbial communities when they developed under the same laboratory conditions. Components of both core and niche-specific microbiota were most likely horizontally acquired by D. suzukii from host fruits. Taken together our results underline the importance of metacommunity approaches to investigate tripartite interactions among insects, host plants and microbiota.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Predictability of preference from acceptance: influence of visual and olfactory stimuli in the Mediterranean fruit fly

Oviposition behavior in phytophagous insects is influenced by different stimuli and plays a key role in pest dynamics and crop loss. This study used 3D-printed artificial fruits varying in colour (yellow, blue, white) and odour (cherry, orange, banana) to test how visual and olfactory cues affect oviposition acceptance (no-choice) and preference (choice). In no-choice assays, the nine artificial fruits displayed sufficiently different visual and olfactory cues to trigger different egg-laying outputs (by a factor 1:3 between the least attractive fruit, white fruit with banana scent and the most attractive fruit, yellow fruit with cherry scent). While cues acted independently in no-choice settings, significant interactions were observed in choice conditions, highlighting multimodal sensory integration. In choice assays, the number of eggs laid and female preference depended on both the characteristics of fruits and their context. However a strong correlation was found between acceptance and preference. The relationship found between acceptance and preference implied that when a fruit seemed preferred in no-choice assays, it was even more preferred in one-choice assays. We finally discussed the practical implications for behavior-based pest management strategies.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

Joint species distributions reveal the combined effects of host plants, abiotic factors and species competition as drivers of community structure in fruit flies

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWThe relative importance of ecological factors and species interactions for phytophagous insect species distributions has long been a controversial issue. Using field abundances of eight sympatric Tephritid fruit flies on 21 host plants, we inferred flies realized niches using joint species distribution modelling and network inference, on the community as a whole and separately on three groups of host plants. These inferences were then confronted to flies fundamental niches estimated through laboratory-measured fitnesses on host plants. Species abundances were mainly determined by host plants followed by climatic factors, with a minor role for competition between species sharing host plants. The relative importance of these factors mildly changed when we focused on particular host plant groups. Despite overlapping fundamental niches, specialists and generalists had almost distinct realized niches, with possible competitive exclusion of generalists by specialists on Cucurbitaceae, and different assembly rules: specialists were mainly influenced by their adaptation to host plants while generalist abundances varied regardless of their fundamental host use.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

How do invasion syndromes evolve? An experimental evolution approach using the ladybug Harmonia axyridis

Experiments comparing native to introduced populations or distinct introduced populations to each other show that phenotypic evolution is common and often involves a suit of interacting phenotypic traits. We define such sets of traits that evolve in concert and contribute to the success of invasive populations as an invasion syndrome. The invasive Harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis displays such an invasion syndrome with, for instance, females from invasive populations being larger and heavier than individuals from native populations, allocating more resources to reproduction, and spreading reproduction over a longer lifespan. Invasion syndromes could emerge due to selection acting jointly and directly on a multitude of traits, or due to selection on one or a few key traits that drive correlated indirect responses in other traits. Here, we investigated the degree to which the H. axyridis invasion syndrome would emerge in response to artificial selection on either female body mass or on age at first reproduction, two traits involved in their invasion syndrome. To further explore the interaction between environmental context and evolutionary change in molding the phenotypic response, we phenotyped the individuals from the selection experiments in two environments, one with abundant food resources and one with limited resources. The two artificial selection experiments show that the number of traits showing a correlated response depends upon the trait undergoing direct selection. Artificial selection on female body mass resulted in few correlated responses and hence poorly reproduced the invasion syndrome. In contrast, artificial selection on age at first reproduction resulted in more widespread phenotypic changes, which nevertheless corresponded only partly to the invasion syndrome. The artificial selection experiments also revealed a large impact of diet on the traits, with effects dependent on the trait considered and the selection regime. Overall, our results indicate that direct selection on multiple traits was likely necessary in the evolution of the H. axyridis invasion syndrome. Furthermore, they show the strength of using artificial selection to identify the traits that are correlated in different selective contexts, which represents a crucial first step in understanding the evolution of complex phenotypic patterns, including invasion syndromes.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

A whole-genome scan for association with invasion success in the fruit fly Drosophila suzukii using contrasts of allele frequencies corrected for population structure

Evidence is accumulating that evolutionary changes are not only common during biological invasions but may also contribute directly to invasion success. The genomic basis of such changes is still largely unexplored. Yet, understanding the genomic response to invasion may help to predict the conditions under which invasiveness can be enhanced or suppressed. Here we characterized the genome response of the spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii during the worldwide invasion of this pest insect species, by conducting a genome-wide association study to identify genes involved in adaptive processes during invasion. Genomic data from 22 population samples were analyzed to detect genetic variants associated with the status (invasive versus native) of the sampled populations based on a newly developed statistic, we called C2, that contrasts allele frequencies corrected for population structure. This new statistical framework has been implemented in an upgraded version of the program BO_SCPLOWAYC_SCPLOWPO_SCPLOWASSC_SCPLOW. We identified a relatively small set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that show a highly significant association with the invasive status of populations. In particular, two genes RhoGEF64C and cpo, the latter contributing to natural variation in several life-history traits (including diapause) in Drosophila melanogaster, contained SNPs significantly associated with the invasive status in the two separate main invasion routes of D. suzukii. Our methodological approaches can be applied to any other invasive species, and more generally to any evolutionary model for species characterized by non-equilibrium demographic conditions for which binary covariables of interest can be defined at the population level.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Evolution of trade-offs across environments following experimental evolution of the generalist Drosophila suzukii to different fruit media

The process of local adaptation involves differential changes in fitness over time across different environments. While experimental evolution studies have extensively tested for patterns of local adaptation at a single time point, there is relatively little research that examines fitness more than once during the time course of adaptation. We allowed replicate populations of the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii to evolve in one of eight different fruit media. After five generations, populations with the highest initial levels of maladaptation had mostly gone extinct, whereas experimental populations evolving on cherry, strawberry and cranberry media had survived. We measured the fitness of each surviving population in each of the three fruit media after five and after 26 generations of evolution. After five generations, adaptation to each medium was associated with increased fitness in the two other media. This was also true after 26 generations, except when populations that evolved on cranberry medium developed on cherry medium. These results suggest that, in the theoretical framework of a fitness landscape, the fitness optima of cherry and cranberry media are the furthest apart. Our results show that studying how fitness changes across several environments and across multiple generations provides insights into the dynamics of local adaptation that would not be evident if fitness were analyzed at a single point in time. By allowing a qualitative mapping of an experimental fitness landscape, our approach will improve our understanding of the ecological factors that drive the evolution of local adaptation in D. suzukii.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

The genomic basis of colour pattern polymorphism in the harlequin ladybird

Many animal species are comprised of discrete phenotypic forms. Understanding the genetic mechanisms generating and maintaining such phenotypic variation within species is essential to comprehending morphological diversity. A common and conspicuous example of discrete phenotypic variation in natural populations of insects is the occurrence of different colour patterns, which has motivated a rich body of ecological and genetic research1-6. The occurrence of dark, i.e. melanic, forms, displaying discrete colour patterns, is found across multiple taxa, but the underlying genomic basis remains poorly characterized. In numerous ladybird species (Coccinellidae), the spatial arrangement of black and orange patches on adult elytra varies wildly within species, forming strikingly different complex colour patterns7,8. In the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis, more than 200 distinct colour forms have been described, which classic genetic studies suggest result from allelic variation at a single, unknown, locus9,10. Here, we combined whole-genome sequencing, population genomics, gene expression and functional analyses, to establish that the gene pannier controls melanic pattern polymorphism in H. axyridis. We show that pannier, which encodes an evolutionary conserved transcription factor, is necessary for the formation of melanic elements on the elytra. Allelic variation in pannier leads to protein expression in distinct domains on the elytra, and thus determines the distinct colour patterns in H. axyridis. Recombination between pannier alleles may be reduced by a highly divergent sequence of ca. 170 kb in the cis-regulatory regions of pannier with a 50 kb inversion between colour forms. This likely helps maintaining the distinct alleles found in natural populations. Thus we propose that highly variable discrete colour forms can arise in natural populations through cis-regulatory allelic variation of a single gene.

evolutionary biology↗