Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species.
Details
State: Public
Version: Final published version
Serval ID
serval:BIB_F6C4335F0FB1
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species.
Journal
Evolution
ISSN
1558-5646 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0014-3820
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2011
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
65
Number
10
Pages
2907-2915
Language
english
Abstract
Reproductive division of labor and the coexistence of distinct castes are hallmarks of insect societies. In social insect species with multiple queens per colony, the fitness of nestmate queens directly depends on the process of caste allocation (i.e., the relative investment in queen, sterile worker and male production). The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic components to the process of caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species. We conducted controlled crosses in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile and established single-queen colonies to identify maternal and paternal family effects on the relative production of new queens, workers, and males. There were significant effects of parental genetic backgrounds on various aspects of caste allocation: the paternal lineage affected the proportion of queens and workers produced whereas the proportions of queens and males, and females and males were influenced by the interaction between parental lineages. In addition to revealing nonadditive genetic effects on female caste determination in a multiple-queen ant species, this study reveals strong genetic compatibility effects between parental genomes on caste allocation components.
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
29/04/2011 13:05
Last modification date
20/08/2019 17:23