title: Asexual queen succession in the higher termite Embiratermes neotenicus.
abstract: Asexual queen succession (AQS), in which workers, soldiers and dispersing reproductives are produced sexually while numerous non-dispersing queens arise through thelytokous parthenogenesis, has recently been described in three species of lower termites of the genus Reticulitermes. Here, we show that AQS is not an oddity restricted to a single genus of lower termites, but a more widespread strategy occurring also in the most advanced termite group, the higher termites (Termitidae). We analysed the genetic structure in 10 colonies of the Neotropical higher termite Embiratermes neotenicus (Syntermitinae) using five newly developed polymorphic microsatellite loci. The colonies contained one primary king accompanied either by a single primary queen or by up to almost 200 neotenic queens. While the workers, the soldiers and most future dispersing reproductives were produced sexually, the non-dispersing neotenic queens originated through thelytokous parthenogenesis of the founding primary queen. Surprisingly, the mode of thelytoky observed in E. neotenicus is most probably automixis with central fusion, contrasting with the automixis with terminal fusion documented in Reticulitermes. The occurrence of AQS based on different mechanisms of ploidy restoration raises the hypothesis of an independent evolutionary origin of this unique reproductive strategy in individual lineages of lower and higher termites.
authors.affiliation: iEES-Paris, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fougeyrollas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dolejšová
authors.affiliation: iEES-Paris, IRD-Sorbonne Universités, UMR 242, Bondy, France LEEC, EA4443, Université Paris 13-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sillam-Dussès
authors.affiliation: iEES-Paris, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: LEEC, EA4443, Université Paris 13-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poteaux
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic robert@uochb.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanus
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Roisin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020049:Isoptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Isoptera; Termitidae; breeding system; reproductive strategies; termites; thelytokous parthenogenesis