A reddish-brown mutant in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria : phase-dependent expression and genetic control

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A reddish-brown (RB) mutant of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria and its genetic control are described. Hatchlings with reddish-brown patterns (RB strain) were found among normal individuals with black patterns (normal strain) in a laboratory colony. The color patterns were similar in the two strains, but the intensity of the melanization appeared weaker in the former. Hatchlings of this mutant could be distinguished visually from normal individuals under crowded conditions only, because they all became green without developing dark patterns under isolated conditions. Under crowded conditions, the difference in the darkness of the body coloration diminished as nymphs grew bigger but persisted throughout their life, including the adult stage. Reciprocal crosses between the mutant and normal strains under crowded conditions produced normal phenotypes only, indicating that the RB phenotype was recessive to the normal phenotype. In the F_2 generation, the normal and RB phenotypes appeared in a ratio of 3:1, indicating that the RB phenotype is inherited in a simple Mendelian fashion and the RB gene is autosomal. These results suggest that the expression of the RB phenotype is phase-dependent and the RB gene might regulate the intensity of melanization.
日本応用動物昆虫学会の論文
2008-11-25