Convergent genetic architecture underlies social organization in ants.
Details
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Version: Final published version
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State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_9E0A1438C486
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Convergent genetic architecture underlies social organization in ants.
Journal
Current Biology
ISSN
1879-0445 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0960-9822
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2014
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
24
Number
22
Pages
2728-2732
Language
english
Abstract
Complex adaptive polymorphisms are common in nature, but what mechanisms maintain the underlying favorable allelic combinations [1-4]? The convergent evolution of polymorphic social organization in two independent ant species provides a great opportunity to investigate how genomes evolved under parallel selection. Here, we demonstrate that a large, nonrecombining "social chromosome" is associated with social organization in the Alpine silver ant, Formica selysi. This social chromosome shares architectural characteristics with that of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta [2], but the two show no detectable similarity in gene content. The discovery of convergence at two levels-the phenotype and the genetic architecture associated with alternative social forms-points at general genetic mechanisms underlying transitions in social organization. More broadly, our findings are consistent with recent theoretical studies suggesting that suppression of recombination plays a key role in facilitating coordinated shifts in coadapted traits [5, 6].
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
06/10/2014 10:47
Last modification date
21/11/2022 8:27