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120 results for “queen ant”
Relatedness modulates reproductive competition among queens in ant societies with multiple queens
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Data from: Octopamine and cooperation: octopamine regulates the disappearance of cooperative behaviours between genetically unrelated founding queens in the ant
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Experimental increase in fecundity causes upregulation of fecundity and body maintenance genes in the fat body of ant queens
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Identification of a queen pheromone mediating the rearing of adult sexuals in the pharaoh ant Monomorium pharaonis
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Data from: "Worker queens"? Behavioral flexibility, juvenile hormone binding protein and Vitellogenin in queens of the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata
<p>Many species of social Hymenoptera demonstrate behavioral flexibility, where older workers that typically forage can revert to younger worker tasks, such as nursing, when these are absent. This flexibility is typical of the sterile worker class, yet rare in queens. In the little fire ant (<i>Wasmannia auropunctata</i>) queens have been reported to perform only egg laying. We examined behavior of queens of <i>W. auropunctata</i> after demographic manipulation. When half of the workers were removed from the colony, queens were observed caring for eggs, larvae and pupae as well as eating outside of the nest, like forager workers. We examined the relationship between these atypical queen behaviors and their juvenile hormone binding protein (JHbp) and vitellogenin (Vg) expression via QRT-PCR method. JHbp and Vg expression decreased when queens were performing worker tasks, resembling the expected expression pattern of typical sterile workers. Flexibility in queen behaviors in the little fire ant may be an important adaptation to changing environments. As a significant invasive species, such adaptation may increase the probability of colony survival during propagation. Our results not only present new insights in behavioral flexibility in social insects, but also increases our understanding of the success of this significant invasive species. </p>
Data from: Queen presence mediates the relationship between collective behavior and disease susceptibility in ant colonies
The success of social living can be explained, in part, by a group's ability to execute collective behaviors unachievable by solitary individuals. However, groups vary in their ability to execute these complex behaviors, often because they vary in their phenotypic composition. Group membership changes over time due to mortality or emigration, potentially leaving groups vulnerable to ecological challenges in times of flux. In some societies, the loss of important individuals (e.g., leaders, elites, queens) may have an especially detrimental effect on groups' ability to deal with these challenges. Here, we test whether the removal of queens in colonies of the acorn ant Temnothorax curvispinosus alters their ability to execute important collective behaviors and survive outbreaks of a generalist entomopathogen. We employed a split-colony design where one half of a colony was maintained with its queen, while the other half was separated from the queen. We then tested these subcolonies' performance in a series of collective behavior assays and finally exposed colonies to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii by exposing two individuals from the colony and then sealing them back into the nest. We found that queenright subcolonies outperformed their queenless counterparts in nearly all collective behaviors. Queenless subcolonies were also more vulnerable to mortality from disease. However, queenless groups that displayed more interactions with brood experienced greater survivorship, a trend not present in queenright subcolonies. Queenless subcolonies that engage in more brood interactions may have had more resources available to cope with two physiological challenges (ovarian development after queen loss and immune activation after pathogen exposure). Our results indicate that queen presence can play an integral role in colony behavior, survivorship, and their relationship. They also suggest that interactions between workers and brood are integral to colonies survival. Overall, a social group's history of social reorganization may have strong consequences on their collective behaviors and their vulnerability to disease outbreaks.
Data from: Mating with an allopatric male triggers immune response and decreases longevity of ant queens
In species with lifelong pair bonding, the reproductive interests of the mating partners are aligned, and males and females are expected to jointly maximize their reproductive success. Mating increases both longevity and fecundity of female reproductives (queens) of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, indicating a tight co-evolution of mating partners. Here, we show that mating with a male from their own population increases lifespan and reproductive success of queens more than mating with a male from a different population, with whom they could not co-evolve. A comparison of transcriptomes revealed an increased expression of genes involved in immunity processes in queens, which mated with males from a different population. Increased immune response might be proximately associated with decreased lifespan. Our study suggests a synergistic co-evolution between the sexes and sheds light on the proximate mechanisms underlying the decreased fitness of allopatrically mated queens.
Data from: Royal Darwinian demons: enforced changes in reproductive efforts do not affect the life expectancy of ant queens
One of the central tenets of life-history theory is that organisms cannot simultaneously maximize all fitness components. This results in the fundamental trade-off between reproduction and life span known from numerous animals, including humans. Social insects are a well-known exception to this rule: reproductive queens outlive nonreproductive workers. Here, we take a step forward and show that under identical social and environmental conditions the fecundity-longevity trade-off is absent also within the queen caste. A change in reproduction did not alter life expectancy, and even a strong enforced increase in reproductive efforts did not reduce residual life span. Generally, egg-laying rate and life span were positively correlated. Queens of perennial social insects thus seem to maximize at the same time two fitness parameters that are normally negatively correlated. Even though they are not immortal, they best approach a hypothetical "Darwinian demon" in the animal kingdom.
Data from: Transcriptomic response to injury sheds light on the physiological costs of reproduction in ant queens
The trade-off between reproduction and longevity is widespread among multicellular organisms. As an important exception, the reproductive females of perennial social insects (ants, honeybees, termites) are simultaneously highly fertile and very long-lived relative to their nonreproductive nestmates. The observation that increased fecundity is not coupled with decreased lifespan suggests that social insect queens do not have to reallocate resources between reproduction and self-maintenance. If queens have to compensate for the costs of reproduction on the level of the individual, the activation of other energy-demanding physiological processes might force them to reduce the production of eggs. To test this hypothesis in ant queens, we increased immunity costs by injury and measured the effect of this treatment on egg-laying rates and genomewide gene expression. Amputation of both middle legs led to a temporary decrease in egg-laying rates and affected the expression of 947 genes corresponding to 9% of the transcriptome. The changes comprised the upregulation of the immune and wound healing response on the one hand, and the downregulation of germ cell development, central nervous system development and learning ability on the other hand. Injury strongly influenced metabolism by inducing catabolism and repressing amino acid and nitrogen compound metabolism. By comparing our results to similar transcriptomic studies in insects, we found a highly consistent upregulation of immune genes due to sterile and septic wounding. The gene expression changes, complemented by the temporary decline of egg-laying rates, clearly reveal a trade-off between reproduction and the immune response in social insect queens.
Data from: Queen pheromones modulate DNA methyltransferase activity in bee and ant workers
DNA methylation is emerging as an important regulator of polyphenism in the social insects. Research has concentrated on differences in methylation between queens and workers, though we hypothesized that methylation is involved in mediating other flexible phenotypes, including pheromone-dependent changes in worker behaviour and physiology. Here, we find that exposure to queen pheromone affects the expression of two DNA methyltransferase genes in Apis mellifera honeybees and in two species of Lasius ants, but not in Bombus terrestris bumblebees. These results suggest that queen pheromones influence the worker methylome, pointing to a novel proximate mechanism for these key social signals.
Data from: Pleiotropic effects of juvenile hormone in ant queens and the escape from the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off
The ubiquitous trade-off between survival and costly reproduction is one of the most fundamental constraints governing life-history evolution. In numerous animals, gonadotropic hormones antagonistically suppressing immunocompetence cause this trade-off. The queens of many social insects defy the reproduction-survival trade-off, achieving both an extraordinarily long life and high reproductive output, but how they achieve this is unknown. Here we show experimentally, by integrating quantification of gene expression, physiology and behaviour, that the long-lived queens of the ant Lasius niger have escaped the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off by decoupling the effects of a key endocrine regulator of fertility and immunocompetence in solitary insects, juvenile hormone (JH). This modification of the regulatory architecture enables queens to sustain a high reproductive output without elevated JH titres and suppressed immunocompetence, providing an escape from the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off that may contribute to the extraordinary lifespan of many social insect queens.
Data from: Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species
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 while the proportions of queens and males, and females and males were influenced by the interaction between parental lineages. In addition to revealing non-additive 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.
Winter is coming: harsh environments limit independent reproduction of cooperative-breeding queens in a socially polymorphic ant
<p><span>Animals that live in cooperative breeding groups frequently inhabit harsh environments. It is widely accepted that harsh environments hinder independent reproduction, and this constraint favours individuals staying in family groups. Yet the assumption that harsh ecological conditions reduce the success of members of cooperative breeding groups when breeding independently has not been experimentally tested. We addressed this shortcoming using the socially polymorphic Alpine silver ant, <i>Formica selysi</i>. This species has single-queen (independent breeders), and multiple-queen (cooperative breeders) colonies</span><span> coexisting within populations</span><span>. We placed newly mated queens emerging from each type of colony to breed alone in either a harsh or mild winter condition and recorded their </span>brood production and survival.<span> Queens emerging from single-queen colonies were unaffected by the winter condition and had higher survival and larger broods than queens from multiple-queen colonies. In contrast, queens from multiple-queen colonies had higher mortality after a harsh than after a mild winter. These results support the long-held assumption that harsh environments constrain independent reproduction of members of cooperative breeding groups. </span></p>
FIGURE 11. Paraparatrechina glabra queen CASENT0021681. A in Taxonomic revision of the ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) genus Paraparatrechina in the Afrotropical and Malagasy Regions
FIGURE 11. Paraparatrechina glabra queen CASENT0021681. A, profile; B, dorsum; C, full face.
Data from: Gene expression patterns associated with caste and reproductive status in ants: worker-specific genes are more derived than queen-specific ones
Variation in gene expression leads to phenotypic diversity and plays a central role in caste differentiation of eusocial insect species. In social Hymenoptera, females with the same genetic background can develop into queens or workers, which are characterized by divergent morphologies, behaviors and lifespan. Moreover, many social insects exhibit behaviorally distinct worker castes, such as brood-tenders and foragers. Researchers have just started to explore which genes are differentially expressed to achieve this remarkable phenotypic plasticity. Although the queen is normally the only reproductive individual in the nest, following her removal, young brood-tending workers often develop ovaries and start to reproduce. Here, we make use of this ability in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus and compare gene expression patterns in the queens and three worker castes along a reproductive gradient. We found the largest expression differences between the queen and the worker castes (~2,500 genes), and the smallest differences between infertile brood-tenders and foragers (~300 genes). The expression profile of fertile workers is more worker-like, but to a certain extent intermediate between the queen and the infertile worker castes. In contrast to the queen, a high number of differentially expressed genes in the worker castes are of unknown function, pointing to the derived status of Hymenopteran workers within insects.
Fig. 1 in New records of the exotic black little ant Monomorium carbonarium in the Iberian Peninsula and discovery of the ergatoid queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Fig. 1 – The red asterisk indicates the infested park, isolated by roads. White asterisks show non-infested parks suitable to be colonized. Background photo from Google Maps.
Winter is coming: harsh environments limit independent reproduction of cooperative-breeding queens in a socially polymorphic ant
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Data from: Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species
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Data from: Queen presence mediates the relationship between collective behavior and disease susceptibility in ant colonies
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Data from: Pleiotropic effects of juvenile hormone in ant queens and the escape from the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off
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