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Ruhland F, Gabant G, Toussaint T, Nemcic M, Cadène M, Lucas C. Reproductives signature revealed by protein profiling and behavioral bioassays in termite. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7070. [PMID: 37127756 PMCID: PMC10151321 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33252-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteins are known to be social interaction signals in many species in the animal kingdom. Common mediators in mammals and aquatic species, they have seldom been identified as such in insects' behaviors. Yet, they could represent an important component to support social signals in social insects, as the numerous physical contacts between individuals would tend to favor the use of contact compounds in their interactions. However, their role in social interactions is largely unexplored: are they rare or simply underestimated? In this preliminary study, we show that, in the termite Reticulitermes flavipes, polar extracts from reproductives trigger body-shaking of workers (a vibratory behavior involved in reproductives recognition) while extracts from workers do not. Molecular profiling of these cuticular extracts using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry reveals higher protein diversity in reproductives than in workers and a sex-specific composition exclusive to reproductives. While the effects observed with extracts are not as strong as with live termites, these results open up the intriguing possibility that social signaling may not be limited to cuticular hydrocarbons or other non-polar, volatile chemicals as classically accepted. Our results suggest that polar compounds, in particular some of the Cuticular Protein Compounds (CPCs) shown here by MALDI to be specific to reproductives, could play a significant role in insect societies. While this study is preliminary and further comprehensive molecular characterization is needed to correlate the body-shaking triggering effects with a given set of polar compounds, this exploratory study opens new perspectives for understanding the role of polar compounds such as proteins in caste discrimination, fertility signaling, or interspecific insect communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Ruhland
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR7261), CNRS - University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Guillaume Gabant
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (UPR 4301), CNRS - University of Orléans, Orléans, France
| | - Timothée Toussaint
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR7261), CNRS - University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Matej Nemcic
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (UPR 4301), CNRS - University of Orléans, Orléans, France
| | - Martine Cadène
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (UPR 4301), CNRS - University of Orléans, Orléans, France
| | - Christophe Lucas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR7261), CNRS - University of Tours, Tours, France.
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2
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Blacher P, Zahnd S, Purcell J, Avril A, Honorato TO, Bailat‐Rosset G, Staedler D, Brelsford A, Chapuisat M. Species recognition limits mating between hybridizing ant species. Evolution 2022; 76:2105-2115. [PMID: 35802833 PMCID: PMC9541793 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Identifying mechanisms limiting hybridization is a central goal of speciation research. Here, we studied premating and postmating barriers to hybridization between two ant species, Formica selysi and Formica cinerea. These species hybridize in the Rhône valley in Switzerland, where they form a mosaic hybrid zone, with limited introgression from F. selysi into F. cinerea. There was no sign of temporal isolation between the two species in the production of queens and males. With choice experiments, we showed that queens and males strongly prefer to mate with conspecifics. Yet, we did not detect postmating barriers caused by genetic incompatibilities. Specifically, hybrids of all sexes and castes were found in the field and F1 hybrid workers did not show reduced viability compared to nonhybrid workers. To gain insights into the cues involved in species recognition, we analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of queens, males, and workers and staged dyadic encounters between workers. CHC profiles differed markedly between species, but were similar in F. cinerea and hybrids. Accordingly, workers also discriminated species, but they did not discriminate F. cinerea and hybrids. We discuss how the CHC-based recognition system of ants may facilitate the establishment of premating barriers to hybridization, independent of hybridization costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Blacher
- Departement of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneCH‐1015Switzerland
| | - Sacha Zahnd
- Departement of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneCH‐1015Switzerland
| | - Jessica Purcell
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiversideCalifornia92521USA
| | - Amaury Avril
- Departement of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneCH‐1015Switzerland
| | | | | | - Davide Staedler
- Scitec Research SALausanneCH‐1007Switzerland,Department of Biomedical SciencesUniversity of LausanneLausanneCH‐1011Switzerland
| | - Alan Brelsford
- Department of BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiversideCalifornia92521USA
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Departement of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneCH‐1015Switzerland
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Similarities in Recognition Cues Lead to the Infiltration of Non-Nestmates in an Ant Species. J Chem Ecol 2021; 48:16-26. [PMID: 34762209 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01325-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Chemical cues are among the most important information-sharing mechanisms in insect societies, in which cuticular hydrocarbons play a central role, e.g., from nestmate recognition to queen signaling. The nestmate recognition mechanism usually prevents intruders from taking advantage of the resources stored in the nest. However, nestmate recognition is not unconditionally effective, and foreign individuals can sometimes infiltrate unrelated nests and take advantage of the colony resources. In this study, we investigated the role of overall colony odor profiles on the ability of conspecific workers to drift into unrelated colonies. We hypothesized that drifters would have higher chances of success by infiltrating colonies with the odor profiles most similar to their own nest, avoiding being detected as non-nestmates. By performing a drifting bioassay, we found that workers of the ant Formica fusca infiltrated unrelated conspecific colonies at a rate of 2.4%, significantly infiltrating colonies displaying CHC profiles most similar to their natal nests. Notably, methyl branched hydrocarbons seem to play a role as recognition cues in this species. In addition, we show that environmental rather than genetic factors are responsible for most contributions on the CHC phenotype, presenting ca. of 50% and 27.5% of explained variation respectively, and playing a major role in how worker ants detect and prevent the infiltration of non-nestmates in the colony. Hence, relying on cuticular hydrocarbons similarities could be a profitably evolutionary strategy by which workers can identify conspecific colonies, evade detection by guards, and avoid competition with genetic relatives.
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De Gasperin O, Blacher P, Chapuisat M. Social insect colonies are more likely to accept unrelated queens when they come with workers. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Relatedness underlies the evolution of reproductive altruism, yet eusocial insect colonies occasionally accept unrelated reproductive queens. Why would workers living in colonies with related queens accept unrelated ones, when they do not gain indirect fitness through their reproduction? To understand this seemingly paradox, we investigated whether acceptance of unrelated queens by workers is an incidental phenomenon resulting from failure to recognize non-nestmate queens, or whether it is adaptively favored in contexts where cooperation is preferable to rejection. Our study system is the socially polymorphic Alpine silver ant, Formica selysi. Within populations, some colonies have a single queen, and others have multiple, sometimes unrelated, breeding queens. Social organization is determined by a supergene with two haplotypes. In a first experiment, we investigated whether the number of reproductive queens living in colonies affects the ability of workers at rejecting alien queens, as multiple matrilines within colonies could increase colony odor diversity and reduce workers’ recognition abilities. As workers rejected all alien queens, independently of the number of queens heading their colony, we then investigated whether their acceptance is flexible and favored in specific conditions. We found that workers frequently accepted alien queens when these queens came with a workforce. Our results show that workers flexibly adjust their acceptance of alien queens according to the situation. We discuss how this conditional acceptance of unrelated queens may be adaptive by providing benefits through increased colony size and/or genetic diversity, and by avoiding rejection costs linked to fighting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ornela De Gasperin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pierre Blacher
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Pulliainen U, Bos N, d'Ettorre P, Sundström L. The Scent of Ant Brood: Caste Differences in Surface Hydrocarbons of Formica exsecta Pupae. J Chem Ecol 2021; 47:513-524. [PMID: 33900528 PMCID: PMC8217064 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01275-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication is common across all organisms. Insects in particular use predominantly chemical stimuli in assessing their environment and recognizing their social counterparts. One of the chemical stimuli used for recognition in social insects, such as ants, is the suite of long-chain, cuticular hydrocarbons. In addition to providing waterproofing, these surface hydrocarbons serve as a signature mixture, which ants can perceive, and use to distinguish between strangers and colony mates, and to determine caste, sex, and reproductive status of another individual. They can be both environmentally and endogenously acquired. The surface chemistry of adult workers has been studied extensively in ants, yet the pupal stage has rarely been considered. Here we characterized the surface chemistry of pupae of Formica exsecta, and examine differences among sexes, castes (reproductive vs. worker), and types of sample (developing individual vs. cocoon envelope). We found quantitative and qualitative differences among both castes and types of sample, but male and female reproductives did not differ in their surface chemistry. We also found that the pupal surface chemistry was more complex than that of adult workers in this species. These results improve our understanding of the information on which ants base recognition, and highlights the diversity of surface chemistry in social insects across developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unni Pulliainen
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Tväminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Nick Bos
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Patrizia d'Ettorre
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, University of Paris, 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Liselotte Sundström
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
- Tväminne Zoological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Liu X, Zhang D, Lin T, Yan Z. Chemical cues mediate social monogamy in a marine caridean shrimp, Lysmata debelius. J ETHOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-019-00620-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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7
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Pulliainen U, Bos N, d'Ettorre P, Sundström L. Caste-dependent brood retrieval by workers in the ant Formica exsecta. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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8
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Csata E, Timuş N, Witek M, Casacci LP, Lucas C, Bagnères AG, Sztencel-Jabłonka A, Barbero F, Bonelli S, Rákosy L, Markó B. Lock-picks: fungal infection facilitates the intrusion of strangers into ant colonies. Sci Rep 2017; 7:46323. [PMID: 28402336 PMCID: PMC5389342 DOI: 10.1038/srep46323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies investigating host-parasite systems rarely deal with multispecies interactions, and mostly explore impacts on hosts as individuals. Much less is known about the effects at colony level, when parasitism involves host organisms that form societies. We surveyed the effect of an ectoparasitic fungus, Rickia wasmannii, on kin-discrimination abilities of its host ant, Myrmica scabrinodis, identifying potential consequences at social level and subsequent changes in colony infiltration success of other organisms. Analyses of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), known to be involved in insects' discrimination processes, revealed variations in chemical profiles correlated with the infection status of the ants, that could not be explained by genetic variation tested by microsatellites. In behavioural assays, fungus-infected workers were less aggressive towards both non-nestmates and unrelated queens, enhancing the probability of polygyny. Likewise, parasitic larvae of Maculinea butterflies had a higher chance of adoption by infected colonies. Our study indicates that pathogens can modify host recognition abilities, making the society more prone to accept both conspecific and allospecific organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enikő Csata
- Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Natalia Timuş
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Magdalena Witek
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Luca Pietro Casacci
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10023 Torino, Italy
| | - Christophe Lucas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, Université François Rabelais, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Anne-Geneviève Bagnères
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, Université François Rabelais, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Anna Sztencel-Jabłonka
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Francesca Barbero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10023 Torino, Italy
| | - Simona Bonelli
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10023 Torino, Italy
| | - László Rákosy
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Bálint Markó
- Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Wong JWY, Meunier J, Lucas C, Kölliker M. Paternal signature in kin recognition cues of a social insect: concealed in juveniles, revealed in adults. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:rspb.2014.1236. [PMID: 25165768 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Kin recognition is a key mechanism to direct social behaviours towards related individuals or avoid inbreeding depression. In insects, recognition is generally mediated by cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) compounds, which are partly inherited from parents. However, in social insects, potential nepotistic conflicts between group members from different patrilines are predicted to select against the expression of patriline-specific signatures in CHC profiles. Whereas this key prediction in the evolution of insect signalling received empirical support in eusocial insects, it remains unclear whether it can be generalized beyond eusociality to less-derived forms of social life. Here, we addressed this issue by manipulating the number of fathers siring clutches tended by females of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia, analysing the CHC profiles of the resulting juvenile and adult offspring, and using discriminant analysis to estimate the information content of CHC with respect to the maternal and paternal origin of individuals. As predicted, if paternally inherited cues are concealed during family life, increases in mating number had no effect on information content of CHC profiles among earwig juveniles, but significantly decreased the one among adult offspring. We suggest that age-dependent expression of patriline-specific cues evolved to limit the risks of nepotism as family-living juveniles and favour sibling-mating avoidance as group-living adults. These results highlight the role of parental care and social life in the evolution of chemical communication and recognition cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine W Y Wong
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Joël Meunier
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Christophe Lucas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR 7261), CNRS, University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Mathias Kölliker
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Tofolo VC, Giannotti E, Neves EF, Andrade LHC, Lima SM, Súarez YR, Antonialli-Junior WF. Polydomy in the ant Ectatomma opaciventre. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2014; 14:21. [PMID: 25373168 PMCID: PMC4199536 DOI: 10.1093/jis/14.1.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2012] [Accepted: 11/03/2013] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Tropical ants commonly exhibit a hyper-dispersed pattern of spatial distribution of nests. In polydomous species, nests may be satellites, that is, secondary structures of the main nest, where the queen is found. In order to evaluate whether the ant Ectatomma opaciventre Roger (Formicidae: Ectatomminae) uses the strategy of building polydomous nests, the spatial distribution pattern of 33 nests in a 1,800 m(2) degraded area located in Rio Claro, SP, Brazil, were investigated using the nearest neighbor method. To complement the results of this investigation, the cuticular chemical profile of eight colonies was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). The nests of E. opaciventre presented a hyper-dispersed or regular distribution, which is the most common in ants. The analysis of the cuticular hydrocarbons apparently con-firmed the hypothesis that this species is polydomous, since the chemical profiles of all studied colonies with nests at different sites were very similar to the chemical signature of the single found queen and were also different from those of colonies used as control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviane C Tofolo
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências, Centro de estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Rio Claro/SP, Brazil
| | - Edilberto Giannotti
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Rio Claro/SP, Brazil
| | - Erika F Neves
- Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Dourados, Programa de pós-graduação em Entomologia e Con-servação da Biodiversidade, MS, Brazil
| | - Luis H C Andrade
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), Centro Integrado de Análise e Monitoramento Ambiental, Dourados/MS, Brazil
| | - Sandro M Lima
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), Centro Integrado de Análise e Monitoramento Ambiental, Dourados/MS, Brazil
| | - Yzel R Súarez
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), Centro Integrado de Análise e Monitoramento Ambiental, Dourados/MS, Brazil
| | - William F Antonialli-Junior
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), Centro Integrado de Análise e Monitoramento Ambiental, Dourados/MS, Brazil
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Purcell J, Chapuisat M. The influence of social structure on brood survival and development in a socially polymorphic ant: insights from a cross-fostering experiment. J Evol Biol 2012; 25:2288-97. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2012.02607.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2012] [Revised: 06/25/2012] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Purcell
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; Bâtiment Biophore; Quartier UNIL-Sorge; University of Lausanne; Lausanne; Switzerland
| | - M. Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; Bâtiment Biophore; Quartier UNIL-Sorge; University of Lausanne; Lausanne; Switzerland
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12
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Meunier J, Kölliker M. Parental antagonism and parent-offspring co-adaptation interact to shape family life. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3981-8. [PMID: 22810433 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The family is an arena for conflicts between offspring, mothers and fathers that need resolving to promote the evolution of parental care and the maintenance of family life. Co-adaptation is known to contribute to the resolution of parent-offspring conflict over parental care by selecting for combinations of offspring demand and parental supply that match to maximize the fitness of family members. However, multiple paternity and differences in the level of care provided by mothers and fathers can generate antagonistic selection on offspring demand (mediated, for example, by genomic imprinting) and possibly hamper co-adaptation. While parent-offspring co-adaptation and parental antagonism are commonly considered two major processes in the evolution of family life, their co-occurrence and the evolutionary consequences of their joint action are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate the simultaneous and entangled effects of these two processes on outcomes of family interactions, using a series of breeding experiments in the European earwig, Forficula auricularia, an insect species with uniparental female care. As predicted from parental antagonism, we show that paternally inherited effects expressed in offspring influence both maternal care and maternal investment in future reproduction. However, and as expected from the entangled effects of parental antagonism and co-adaptation, these effects critically depended on postnatal interactions with caring females and maternally inherited effects expressed in offspring. Our results demonstrate that parent-offspring co-adaptation and parental antagonism are entangled key drivers in the evolution of family life that cannot be fully understood in isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Meunier
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel, Switzerland.
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Bonckaert W, Drijfhout FP, d’Ettorre P, Billen J, Wenseleers T. Hydrocarbon Signatures of Egg Maternity, Caste Membership and Reproductive Status in the Common Wasp. J Chem Ecol 2012; 38:42-51. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-011-0055-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2011] [Revised: 11/07/2011] [Accepted: 12/27/2011] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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14
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Meunier J. Can alternative pathways mediate the influence of queen number on nestmate discrimination in ants? Commun Integr Biol 2011; 4:609-11. [PMID: 22046477 DOI: 10.4161/cib.4.5.16839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2011] [Accepted: 06/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of social life is usually associated with capabilities of individuals to protect group boundaries against foreign individuals. In colonies of ants, the number of reproductive queens is known to influence the accuracy of nestmate discrimination by resident workers. However, the pathway by which this effect is mediated remains unclear. The major hypothesis has long been that workers from multiple-queen colonies commit more discrimination errors against foreigners because their colonies contain a broader diversity of genetically determined cues characterising colony membership. Until recently, this hypothesis has received little attention and poor empirical support. In a recent study, Meunier et al.1 proposed an alternative, albeit not mutually exclusive hypothesis. The presence of one or multiple queens modifies chemical signals on colony members that trigger aggressive or cooperative behaviors during foreign encounters. Here, I detail how this new hypothesis is congruent with previous results and discuss potential limits and evolutionary implications of the two suggested hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Meunier
- University of Basel; Zoological Institute; Evolutionary Biology; Basel, Switzerland
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15
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16
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Meunier J. Can alternative pathways mediate the influence of queen number on nestmate discrimination in ants? Commun Integr Biol 2011. [DOI: 10.4161/cib.16839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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