A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects
Abstract Minute insects such as parasitic micro-wasps have high basic and applied importance for their widespread use as biocontrol agents. Their dispersal is a phenotype of particular interest. Classically, it is evaluated using field releases, but those are time consuming, costly, and their result...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-03-01
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Series: | Scientific Reports |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31630-8 |
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author | M. Cointe V. Burte G. Perez L. Mailleret V. Calcagno |
author_facet | M. Cointe V. Burte G. Perez L. Mailleret V. Calcagno |
author_sort | M. Cointe |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract Minute insects such as parasitic micro-wasps have high basic and applied importance for their widespread use as biocontrol agents. Their dispersal is a phenotype of particular interest. Classically, it is evaluated using field releases, but those are time consuming, costly, and their results highly variable, preventing high-throughput and repeatability. Alternatively, dispersal can be studied using small-scale assays, but those neglect important higher-scale processes. Consequently, proper evaluation of dispersal is often complicated or lacking in academic studies and biocontrol breeding programs. Here we introduce a new method, the double-spiral maze, that allows the study of spatial propagation of groups of micro-wasps at relevant scales (several hours and meters), retaining high throughput and experimental power. The method records the location of every individual at every time, enabling accurate estimates of diffusion coefficients or other dispersal metrics. We describe this affordable, scalable, and easy-to-implement method, and illustrate its application with a species of agricultural interest. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:56:27Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-6843f3279ebb418ba7ad7765ed203ab3 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2045-2322 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:56:27Z |
publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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series | Scientific Reports |
spelling | doaj.art-6843f3279ebb418ba7ad7765ed203ab32023-04-03T05:25:14ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-03-0113111510.1038/s41598-023-31630-8A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insectsM. Cointe0V. Burte1G. Perez2L. Mailleret3V. Calcagno4Université Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Sophia AgrobiotechUniversité Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Sophia AgrobiotechUniversité Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Sophia AgrobiotechUniversité Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Sophia AgrobiotechUniversité Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Sophia AgrobiotechAbstract Minute insects such as parasitic micro-wasps have high basic and applied importance for their widespread use as biocontrol agents. Their dispersal is a phenotype of particular interest. Classically, it is evaluated using field releases, but those are time consuming, costly, and their results highly variable, preventing high-throughput and repeatability. Alternatively, dispersal can be studied using small-scale assays, but those neglect important higher-scale processes. Consequently, proper evaluation of dispersal is often complicated or lacking in academic studies and biocontrol breeding programs. Here we introduce a new method, the double-spiral maze, that allows the study of spatial propagation of groups of micro-wasps at relevant scales (several hours and meters), retaining high throughput and experimental power. The method records the location of every individual at every time, enabling accurate estimates of diffusion coefficients or other dispersal metrics. We describe this affordable, scalable, and easy-to-implement method, and illustrate its application with a species of agricultural interest.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31630-8 |
spellingShingle | M. Cointe V. Burte G. Perez L. Mailleret V. Calcagno A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects Scientific Reports |
title | A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
title_full | A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
title_fullStr | A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
title_full_unstemmed | A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
title_short | A double-spiral maze and hi-resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
title_sort | double spiral maze and hi resolution tracking pipeline to study dispersal by groups of minute insects |
url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31630-8 |
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