Date of Graduation
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department
Division of Plant and Soil Sciences
Committee Chair
Teiya Kijimoto
Committee Member
Kimberly Barnes
Committee Member
Daniel Panaccione
Abstract
An organism’s phenotype can be affected in development by alterations to gene expression based on environmental inputs. Nutrition is one such environmental input and the central regulator of development of large horn or small horn phenotypes in the dung beetle species, Onthophagus taurus. However, little is known about the nature of chemical compounds that are critical to this plastic horn development. To better understand these compounds, we are utilizing an untargeted metabolomic approach as well as a targeted gene approach. Through the metabolomic approach, it was uncovered that environmental conditions tend to have a greater impact on metabolomic composition than sex. In addition, several discovered metabolites were indicative of different environmental conditions. Under our genetic approach, we discovered that a phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4Kiiia) knockdown results in animals having a greater mean horn size, more variance in horn width, and many horn shapes not seen in control animals.
Recommended Citation
Williamson, Naomi Garrett, "The effects of internal physiology on polyphenic horn development in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus" (2020). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7556.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7556
Included in
Developmental Biology Commons, Entomology Commons, Evolution Commons, Genetics Commons, Molecular, Genetic, and Biochemical Nutrition Commons