Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Did You Know: Weather may influence sex of offspring!

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 22 May, 2014 02:21 PM
    The soaring temperature may not determine whether you give birth to a boy or a girl, but whether an insect would have a male or female offspring depends on the temperature.
     
    A species of oophagous parasitoid (Trichogramma euproctidis) deliberately gave birth to more males when the temperature was hot, a new study showed.
     
    “We know that climate affects the reproductive behaviour of insects. But we never clearly demonstrated the effects of climate change on sex allocation in parasitoids,” explained Joffrey Moiroux from the University of Montreal in Canada.
     
    Trichogramma euproctidis lays its eggs inside a host insect that would be consumed by the future larvae.
     
    As in bees, wasps and ants, the gender determination of Trichogramma parasitoids is called “haplodiploid” where fertilised eggs produce female offspring, while unfertilised eggs produce male offspring.
     
    "It is possible to predict whether the parasitoid will lay a son or daughter by observing the presence or absence of a pause in its abdominal contractions at the time of spawning," Moiroux noted.
     
    A pause means the egg will be fertilised. Conversely, the absence of a pause means the egg will not be fertilised, he explained.
     
    To know whether this particular behaviour is modified by climate, the researcher exposed female Trichogramma to three different temperatures: 34 degrees Celsius (high), 24 degrees Celsius (medium), and 14 degrees Celsius (low).
     
    The study found that when it was hot, females deliberately produced more males than at medium temperature - at 34 degrees Celsius, the number of males produced increased by 80 percent.
     
    The ability of Trichogramma to "programme" the sex of their offspring is compromised, however, when the temperature is cold, the researchers noted.
     
    The study appeared in the journal Animal Behaviour.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    An 'upside-down planet' discovered

    An 'upside-down planet' discovered
    Like so many interesting discoveries, this one happened largely by accident. An astronomer has discovered an ‘upside-down planet’ that reveals new method for studying binary star systems.

    An 'upside-down planet' discovered

    Our ancestors enjoyed summer holidays at Antartica!

    Our ancestors enjoyed summer holidays at Antartica!
    If this information stands true, the history books have to be rewritten soon. According to scientists, some parts on the coldest region on our earth - Antartica - was as warm as today's California coast.

    Our ancestors enjoyed summer holidays at Antartica!

    Garnish food with edible flowers for disease-free life!

    Garnish food with edible flowers for disease-free life!
    Forget food, try some flowers instead to increase immunity. If we go by a new research, common edible flowers in China are rich in phenolics and have excellent antioxidant capacity.

    Garnish food with edible flowers for disease-free life!

    Humans left Africa in two migration waves: Study

    Humans left Africa in two migration waves: Study
    In a significant discovery, researchers have found that modern humans may have dispersed in more than one wave of migration out of Africa.

    Humans left Africa in two migration waves: Study

    How God intervenes when romance fails you

    How God intervenes when romance fails you
    You turn to the almighty when faced with difficulties in life. New research explores a little-known role of God in your life - helping you cope with the threat of romantic rejection.

    How God intervenes when romance fails you

    Now explosives found near rally venue, Mamata claims murder conspiracy

    Now explosives found near rally venue, Mamata claims murder conspiracy
    A day after she had a narrow escape from a fire, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday alleged a concerted effort to eliminate her, even as explosives were recovered a few kilometres away from her rally venue.

    Now explosives found near rally venue, Mamata claims murder conspiracy