SRA

The main goal of this project is to increase the molecular resources available for the study of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in locusts, motivated by our long-term interest in the evolution of this extreme form of phenotypic plasticity. Locusts are grasshoppers of which relatively inactive and solitary individuals transform into very active, gregarious individuals in response to an increase in local population density. When high densities persist, locusts will exhibit collective movements that lead to locust plagues. Understanding the molecular basis of this phenomenon has been considered the last frontier in locust research. Over the last few years, we have studied the Central American locust, Schistocerca piceifrons, as a model system. It shows behavioral, morphological, physiological, ecological, and molecular plasticity in response to change in density, similar to the well-studied desert locust S. gregaria. Additionally, S. piceifrons is more closely related to non-swarming grasshoppers than to other locust species within the genus, and these non-swarming relatives also exhibit some degree of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity, reminiscent of a locust. As such, RNA sequencing of two different tissues of S. piceifrons and three of these closely related non-swarming grasshoppers, can help us better understand both the molecular basis of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity itself and of its evolution.