Publications by authors named "Rudi L Verspoor"
X chromosome meiotic drive (XCMD) kills Y-bearing sperm during spermatogenesis, leading to the biased transmission of the selfish X chromosome. Despite this strong transmission, some natural XCMD systems remain at low and stable frequencies, rather than rapidly spreading through populations. The reason may be that male carriers can have reduced fitness, as they lose half of their sperm, only produce daughters, and may carry deleterious alleles associated with XCMD.
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- Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are common in Eukaryotes and significantly influence evolutionary processes, particularly through their effects on sperm.
- These SGEs often lead to negative consequences for males, such as damaging their ejaculates, unbalancing offspring sex ratios, and limiting their sperm competitiveness.
- Research is ongoing to understand how males and females cope with these costs and the broader effects SGEs might have on male fertility and sperm development.
The use of agrochemicals in vegetable production could influence the selection for insecticide resistance in malaria vectors. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information on the potential contribution of agrochemicals to insecticide resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes breeding on vegetable farms in southern Benin. A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices study was conducted with 75 vegetable farmers from Houeyiho and Seme to determine the main agrochemicals used in vegetable production, and the concentration and frequency of application, among other details.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTermites are widely used as a food resource, particularly in Africa and Asia. Markets for insects as food are also expanding worldwide. To inform the development of insect-based foods, we analysed selected minerals (Fe-Mn-Zn-Cu-Mg) in wild-harvested and commercially available termites.
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- Insects are increasingly being accepted as food in Europe and North America, but consumer trust hinges on accurate product labeling.
- A study used DNA barcoding to verify if the actual insects sold in the UK matched what was listed on the packaging.
- While farmed insects generally matched their labels, discrepancies were found in foraged insects and vague descriptions, highlighting the need for better labeling protocols to ensure safety and consumer confidence.
Meiotically driving sex chromosomes manipulate gametogenesis to increase their transmission at a cost to the rest of the genome. The intragenomic conflicts they produce have major impacts on the ecology and evolution of their host species. However, their ecological dynamics remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeiotic drivers are genetic variants that selfishly manipulate the production of gametes to increase their own rate of transmission, often to the detriment of the rest of the genome and the individual that carries them. This genomic conflict potentially occurs whenever a diploid organism produces a haploid stage, and can have profound evolutionary impacts on gametogenesis, fertility, individual behaviour, mating system, population survival, and reproductive isolation. Multiple research teams are developing artificial drive systems for pest control, utilising the transmission advantage of drive to alter or exterminate target species.
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- Mating experiments with Drosophila (fruit flies) have improved our understanding of sexual selection and behavior, but traditional methods for identifying flies can be invasive and impact their behavior.
- A new non-invasive labeling method using food coloring allows for easy and quick identification of individual flies without affecting their mating behavior, especially in competitive scenarios.
- Data shows that the dye method has less impact on behaviors than the traditional CO2 anesthesia, and effects vary by species, indicating the dye is a better option for various experimental designs.
Drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives have been extremely important model species in the development of population genetic models that serve to explain patterns of diversity in natural populations, a major goal of evolutionary biology. A detailed picture of the evolutionary history of these species is beginning to emerge, as the relative importance of forces including demographic changes and natural selection is established. A continuing aim is to characterise levels of genetic diversity in a large number of populations of these species, covering a wide geographic area.
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