Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #187913
Title: ADVANCES, CONTROVERSIES, AND CONSENSUS IN LOCUST PHASE POLYPHENISM RESEARCH

Author
item Sword, Gregory
item SIMPSON, STEPHEN - OXFORD UNIVERSITY
item DELOOF, ARNOLD - K.U. LEUVEN

Submitted to: Journal of Orthoptera Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/18/2005
Publication Date: 11/18/2005
Citation: Sword, G.A., Simpson, S.J., Deloof, A. 2005. Advances, controversies, and consensus in locust phase polyphenism research. Journal of Orthoptera Research. 14(2):213-222.

Interpretive Summary: The present paper arose from a symposium at the 9th International Conference of the Orthopterists’ Society held in Canmore, Canada, from 14-19th August 2005. Most of the major groups working on locust phase polyphenism were in attendance (Table 1), offering the opportunity to review the rapid progress that has occurred in the field over recent years. To maintain momentum in this research, areas where results from different groups are at odds were debated and ways to reconcile these discrepancies were proposed. The symposium also provided researchers with a forum to consider how to coordinate core facilities and resources across laboratories to make best use of national and international funding opportunities. Participants presented their results on a range of aspects of phase polyphenism research, spanning from molecular analyses to physiology, ecology and phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolutionary history of phase change. The symposium was followed by a detailed discussion session attended by members of the audience as well as the symposium speakers. The present paper provides a synopsis of the discussion and is structured according to the major issues considered. Unless stated, the paper concerns the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, which has been the subject of most of the recent research.

Technical Abstract: The present paper arose from a symposium at the 9th International Conference of the Orthopterists’ Society held in Canmore, Canada, from 14-19th August 2005. Most of the major groups working on locust phase polyphenism were in attendance (Table 1), offering the opportunity to review the rapid progress that has occurred in the field over recent years. To maintain momentum in this research, areas where results from different groups are at odds were debated and ways to reconcile these discrepancies were proposed. The symposium also provided researchers with a forum to consider how to coordinate core facilities and resources across laboratories to make best use of national and international funding opportunities. Participants presented their results on a range of aspects of phase polyphenism research, spanning from molecular analyses to physiology, ecology and phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolutionary history of phase change. The symposium was followed by a detailed discussion session attended by members of the audience as well as the symposium speakers. The present paper provides a synopsis of the discussion and is structured according to the major issues considered. Unless stated, the paper concerns the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, which has been the subject of most of the recent research.