bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.06.710017

Creating complete life histories of individual female tsetse (Glossina spp) to study the effects of meteorological conditions on fly size in Zimbabwe

Hargrove, J. W.·Bruce, F.·Van Sickle, J.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Combining novel methodologies with ovarian dissection, we estimated life histories for ca. 90,000 individual female Glossina pallidipes and G. m. morsitans sampled from 1988-1999 in Zimbabwes Zambezi Valley. Using temperature-dependent development rates we stepped back through each flys life, fixing dates of successive pregnancies, adult emergence, pupal period, pregnancy and oogenesis. This enabled modelling of relationships between wing and egg lengths, and conditions prevailing when these lengths were being determined. Egg lengths increased with maternal wing length, were shorter in primiparous flies but changed little with age thereafter. G. pallidipes egg lengths were positively related to NDVI and negatively to temperature (R2 = 0.68), for variables averaged over the period of oogenesis for each fly, and then averaged again across weekly cohorts of flies. G. m. morsitans mean egg lengths, pooled by month, showed the same pattern (R2 = 0.53). Pooled mean wing lengths increased with NDVI and decreased with temperature prevailing while flies were developing in the ovaries and uterus; R2= 0.66 (G. pallidipes) and R2= 0.56 (G. m. morsitans). The models - fitted using flies captured after November 1991 - gave good predictions, with no further modeling, for egg and wing lengths of flies captured between September 1988 and November 1991. The models facilitate true predictions of future changes in fly size based on readily available meteorological data, benefiting vector and disease control efforts in predicting likely changes in tsetse population densities and distribution. Selection against small individuals in the hot-dry season is not restricted to teneral mortality continuing for some weeks after emergence. NDVI, measures of wetness and temperature can indirectly impact tsetse size, mortality and population density by affecting vertebrate host density and, thereby, the probability of tsetse locating and feeding on a host. Our methodology impacts numerous areas of vector biology and control.

Explore related subjects

zoologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Hargrove, J. W., Bruce, F., Van Sickle, J.. 2026-03-09. Creating complete life histories of individual female tsetse (Glossina spp) to study the effects of meteorological conditions on fly size in Zimbabwe. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.06.710017

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Comparing the Influence of Habitat Configuration on Population Connectivity and Genetic Structure Using Congeneric Species Across Multiple Taxa

Abstract Habitat configuration influences population connectivity and, consequently, genetic structure. River networks provide heterogeneous, hierarchically arranged environments that shift drastically from upstream to downstream. We compared congeneric species across Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera, emphasizing longitudinal replacement (upstream to downstream) and the rarely studied wet rock (hygropetric) habitats. We surveyed six rivers on the Muroto Peninsula, Japan, qualitatively sampling aquatic insects at 63 sites. Cluster analysis based on the environmental data classified surveyed sites into four clusters. We analyzed a total of 10 species from four genera that exhibit longitudinal replacement patterns within genera. Genetic analyses based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I region revealed that upstream species showed higher genetic diversity than downstream species. In contrast, species adapted to hygropetric exhibited the lowest genetic differentiation among all habitat types. A novel contribution of this study is the inclusion of hygropetric species. The surprisingly low differentiation in hygropetric species suggests high connectivity, similar to lentic species. By comparing congeneric taxa across orders within environmentally similar rivers, we reduce phylogenetic and environmental confounds, strengthening inference that habitat configuration and dispersal traits jointly shape genetic structure. These findings provide a new perspective on riverine spatial ecology and underscore the importance of microhabitat-aware comparisons for evolutionary inference.

zoology↗
bioRxiv2026

Late lactation represents the main window for sow-to-piglet transmission of persistent gut strains

The gut microbiota plays a key role in piglet health, and maternal microbial transmission may represent a promising lever to shape early-life microbiota and prevent post-weaning digestive disorders. This study aimed to better characterize sow-to-piglet microbiota transmission and persistence using a long-read metabarcoding approach targeting the 16S-ITS-23S region. Fecal samples (n = 204) were collected from 17 families, a family being as sow and three of her piglets, at multiple stages: late gestation (G110), early (L6) and late lactation (L28) for sows; early lactation (L6), late lactation (L28), and 5 days post-weaning for piglets. To approximate strain-level resolution, a putative strain (PS) approach was developed by clustering ASVs (n = 6064) affiliated with the same species based on abundance covariance (r > 0.9), resulting in 4857 PS. Piglet microbiota progressively diversified during lactation and converged toward that of sow. In sows, 27 {+/-} 6% of PS were persistent from late gestation to late lactation. In piglets, only 4.2 {+/-} 2.5% of PS persisted from d6 to 5 days post-weaning. Persistent PS in piglets were mainly affiliated with Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus amylovorus followed with Holdemanella porci and H. biformis, Lentihominibacter hominis and Dorea formicigenerans. Shared PS were significantly higher within families than between unrelated pairs (p < 0.05). Maternal transmission peaked at the end of lactation (35 {+/-} 7% at L28). Persistent transmitted PS represented 2.7 {+/-} 1.6% (d6-post-weaning) and 15.4 {+/-} 5.6% (d28-post-weaning). Early-transmitted persistent PS were mainly affiliated with Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus amylovorus, and Paraeggerthella hominis, whereas late-transmitted persistent PS were associated with Prevotella spp., Sphaerochaeta globosa, and Bariatricus comes. These findings highlight the significance of maternal transmission in shaping the post-weaning microbiota and identify late lactation as a critical window for microbiota transfer.

zoology↗
bioRxiv2026

RISC-Bound Small RNA Sequencing Provides Insights into Guide Strand Selection and siRNA Trimming and Tailing Following Insecticidal dsRNA Delivery

RNA interference (RNAi) offers a sequence-specific approach to pest control. In insects, Dicer-2 processes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes, from which the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) retains a guide strand. Only antisense-loaded RISC can mediate cleavage of the target transcript. However, how sequence features shape the RISC-bound siRNA pool in pests remains poorly understood, limiting opportunities for sequence optimization. Here, we profiled RISC-bound siRNAs following injection of 34 insecticidal dsRNAs targeting 11 essential genes in Tribolium castaneum larvae. We computationally reconstructed 7,879 siRNA pairs and examined associations between sequence features and strand bias. Differences in GC identity at terminal paired positions 1 to 5, used as a proxy for local thermodynamic asymmetry, correlated with strand bias, with the strongest correlations at the first two paired positions. ORF targeting and reduced predicted antisense self-folding were also associated with higher antisense fractions. Analysis of non-templated terminal additions revealed predominantly 3-prime uridylation, a known signature of small RNA turnover, along with putative 3-prime trimming. Among ORF-associated siRNA pairs, sense strands showed higher relative U-tailing abundance, based on 3-prime uridylated and putatively trimmed-and-3-prime-uridylated reads relative to perfect 21-nt reads, than antisense strands. Antisense strands with the least predicted self-folding also showed low relative U-tailing abundance. These observations are consistent with sequence-dependent contributions from both guide-strand selection and differential post-RISC-loading siRNA retention, although a causal link remains to be established. The identified associations provide a basis for testing whether dsRNA sequence optimization can improve pest control efficacy and reduce off-target activity.

zoology↗