Asexual Queen Succession in Termites

Abstract

Termite species from phylogenetically distant lineages were shown to combine both sexual and parthenogenetic reproductions, in a breeding system dubbed as "Asexual Queen Succession". Queens of these species use sexual reproduction for the production of the workforce and dispersers, and thelytokous parthenogenesis for the production of non-dispersing queens. These new queens, often produced in large numbers, will replace their mother upon her death and mate with the founding king. Replacement by these parthenogens maintains the colony's genetic diversity and enhances its growth rate, lifespan and reproductive potential. This breeding system also allows the efficient purging of recessive deleterious mutations from the genomes, and contributes to shape the population sex ratio of these species. This conditional parthenogenesis evolved from a diverse cytological background, and in phylogenetically distant species with contrasted lifestyles, thereby highlighting the inherent evolutionary advantages of this strategy.

Area-Wide Elimination of Subterranean Termite Colonies Using a Novaluron Bait

“…After the primary dies, these secondary queens can mate with the primary king and produce offspring. These now effectively polygyne colonies can have drastically increased growth and reproductive output, similar to extended-or mixed-family colonies [53,54], however, asexual queen succession colonies avoid inbreeding and thus maintain genetic diversity in the colony [55]. While we did not observe differences in the efficacy of baiting simple and extended-family colonies, there are many different colony breeding systems within termites [56], and these have the potential of reducing the effectiveness of AW-IPM.…”

Caste development and sex ratio of the Ryukyu drywood termite Neotermes sugioi and its potential mechanisms

“…Currently, the available information cannot solve the puzzle of selective advantages of the male-biased sex ratio in N. sugioi. In the case of SRV occurred in other termites, SRV is caused by the asexual queen succession (AQS) system where workers, soldiers and alates are produced sexually while numerous neotenic (secondary) queens arise through thelytokous parthenogenesis 11,[21][22][23][24] . This system allows the primary queen in the colony to be genetically longer-lived than the primary king.…”

Genomic imprinting drives eusociality

“…In particular, the effects of parental phenotypes on the caste fate of offspring have been discovered in termites, which provides definitive evidences for non-genetic inheritance (Matsuura et al, 2018). A unique reproductive system named Asexual Queen Succession (AQS) has been identified in several termite species, in which workers, soldiers and alates are produced sexually while neotenic queens arise through thelytokous parthenogenesis and eventually replace the old queens (Hellemans and Roisin, 2020; Matsuura, 2017; Matsuura et al, 2009) (Fig. S1).…”