Genetics of social behaviour in fire ants.
A recent study is the first to sequence a gene known to underlie a complex social phenotype. In the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, a single allelic difference at the Gp-9 locus specifies the number of queens a colony has, and hence the social structure of the colony. Gp-9 appears to encode a protein implicated in chemical recognition of nestmates, consistent with workers determining queen number by selectively executing queens as a function of workers' and queens' Gp-9 genotypes. Other Solenopsis species exhibit the same social and genetic polymorphism. This study pioneers the integrated understanding of the evolution of social behaviour at molecular, individual and social levels.
Bourke
Andrew F G
AF
D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012919:Social Behavior