Clonal structure affects the assembling behavior in the Japanese queenless ant Pristomyrmex punctatus.
The queenless ant Pristomyrmex punctatus (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae) has a unique society that differs from those of other typical ants. This species does not have a queen, and the workers lay eggs and produce their clones parthenogenetically. However, a colony of these ants does not always comprise members derived from a single clonal line. In this study, we examined whether P. punctatus changes its "assembling behavior" based on colony genetic structure. We prepared two subcolonies--a larger one comprising 200 individuals and a smaller one comprising 100 individuals; these subcolonies were established from a single stock colony. We investigated whether these subcolonies assemble into a single nest. The genetically monomorphic subcolonies (single clonal line) always fused into a single nest; however, the genetically polymorphic subcolonies (multiple clonal lines) did not tend to form a single colony. The present study is the first to demonstrate that the colony genetic structure significantly affects social viscosity in social insects.
Nishide
Yudai
Y
Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan.
Satoh
Toshiyuki
T
Hiraoka
Tuyosi
T
Obara
Yoshiaki
Y
Iwabuchi
Kikuo
K
D000533:Altruism; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction; D012919:Social Behavior