What is it about?
This study revealed that an island population of the butterfly Eurema hecabe experienced a rapid shift of sex ratio from near parity to a remarkably female-biased state of more than 90% within four years. We revealed that this is due to the spread of a maternally transmitted symbiont called Wolbachia throughout the population.
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Why is it important?
This study is the first to document the ongoing process of the spread of the sex-ratio-distorting symbiont in a field population. While such events may occur frequently in nature, it is unknown when, where, and in which species they occur. Therefore, this study’s successful real-time fixed-point observation of the rapid spread of the sex-ratio-distorting symbiont is valuable.
Perspectives
We were fortunate to see such a dynamic change in the sex ratio. We'll keep an eye on this buttefly population to see if any other changes occur in the near future.
Daisuke Kageyama
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Rapid spread of a vertically transmitted symbiont induces drastic shifts in butterfly sex ratio, Current Biology, May 2024, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.027.
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