Genetic regulation of colony social organization in fire ants: an integrative overview

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_A4A10198218F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Genetic regulation of colony social organization in fire ants: an integrative overview
Journal
Quarterly Review of Biology
Author(s)
Gotzek D., Ross K. G.
ISSN
0033-5770
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2007
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
82
Number
3
Pages
201-226
Language
english
Abstract
Expression of colony social organization in fire ants appears to be under the control of a single Mendelian factor of large effect. Variation in colony queen number in Solenopsis invicta and its relatives is associated with allelic variation at the gene Gp-9, but not with variation at other unlinked genes; workers regulate queen identity and number on the basis of Gp-9 genotypic compatibility. Nongeneticfactors, such as prior social experience, queen reproductive status, and local environment, have negligible effects on queen number which illustrates the nearly complete penetrance of Gp-9. As predicted, queen number can be manipulated experimentally by altering worker Gp-9 genotype frequencies. The Gp-9 allele lineage associated with polygyny in South American fire? ants has been retained across multiple speciation events, which may signal the action of balancing selection to maintain social polymorphism in these species. Moreover positive selection is implicated in driving the molecular evolution of Gp-9 in association with the origin of polygyny. The identity of the product of Gp-9 as an odorant-binding protein suggests plausible scenarios for its direct involvement in the regulation of queen number via a role in chemical communication. While these and other lines of evidence show that Gp-9 represents a legitimate candidate gene of major effect, studies aimed at determining (i) the biochemical pathways in which GP-9 functions; (ii) the phenotypic effects of molecular variation at Gp-9 and other pathway genes; and (iii) the potential involvement of genes in linkage disequilibrium with Gp-9 are needed to elucidate the genetic architecture underlying social organization in fire ants. Information that reveals the links between molecular variation, individual phenotype, and colony-level behaviors, combined with behavioral models that incorporate details of the chemical communication involved in regulating queen number will yield a novel integrated view of the evolutionary changes underlying a key social adaptation.
Keywords
fire ants, genetic architecture, genetics of adaptation, Gp-9, monogyny, odorant-binding proteins, polygyny, social evolution, social organization, Solenopsis invicta
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Create date
23/04/2009 15:42
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:10
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