Origin of males in Melipona subnitida estimated from data of an isozymic polymorphic system

Contel, E. P. B.; Kerr, Warwick Estevam

doi:10.1007/bf00055470

Cited by 60 publications

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“…Species where workers lack functional ovaries and are therefore fully sterile were excluded. All genetic studies used estimates of WPM that took into account the power of the genetic markers to detect workers' sons using either exclusion or maximum likelihood approaches (e.g., Contel and Kerr 1976;Owen and Plowright 1982;Hastings et al 1998;Tó th et al 2002b). Behavioral studies were retained only when they gave reliable information on the percentage of eggs that were worker laid and the probability of worker-laid eggs being reared into adulthood.…”

Section: Analysis 2: Male Parentagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…M. subnitida. Male parentage has been investigated using allozymes (Contel and Kerr 1976) and behavioral study Koedam et al 2005). The estimate of WPM for the behavioral studies was taken directly from the published sources.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The estimate of WPM for the behavioral studies was taken directly from the published sources. For the allozyme study, we calculated the average WPM based on 14 colonies with parental genotypes AB x A and 4 colonies with parental genotypes AA x B (or BB x A) (Contel and Kerr 1976). Two colonies which had fewer than 10 males genotyped were excluded.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Comparative Analysis of Worker Reproduction and Policing in Eusocial Hymenoptera Supports Relatedness Theory

Wenseleers¹,

Ratnieks²

2006

The American Naturalist

204

279

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In many bees, wasps, and ants, workers police each other in order to prevent individual workers from selfishly producing their own male offspring. Although several factors can selectively favor worker policing, genetic relatedness is considered to be of special importance. In particular, kin selection theory predicts that worker policing should be more common in species where workers are more related to the queen's sons than to other workers' sons. Here we provide strong novel support for this theory based on a comparative analysis of policing and male parentage in 109 species of ants, bees, and wasps. First, an analysis of behavioral data confirms that worker policing occurs more frequently in species where workers are more related to the queen's sons than to other workers' sons. Second, an analysis of male parentage shows that a significantly higher percentage of the males are workers' sons in species where the workers are more related to other workers' sons. Both conclusions also hold if data are analyzed using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Although our analysis provides strong overall support for the theory that relatedness affects kin conflict over male parentage, there is also significant residual variation. Several factors that may explain this variation are discussed.Keywords: worker policing, queen policing, worker reproduction, social Hymenoptera, inclusive fitness, kin selection.A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to explain how social groups can reduce or prevent costly conflicts

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Section: Analysis 2: Male Parentagementioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Comparative Analysis of Worker Reproduction and Policing in Eusocial Hymenoptera Supports Relatedness Theory

Wenseleers¹,

Ratnieks²

2006

The American Naturalist

204

279

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“…Contel and Kerr (1976) considered that the presence of worker-produced males will increase N e because of the increased number of 'genetically active' females. In contrast, Crozier and Pamilo (1996) predicted that worker reproduction decreases N e , despite there being more breeding females, because an extra round of gametic sampling is introduced in each generation and the rate of genetic drift is enhanced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective population size in eusocial Hymenoptera with worker-produced males

Nomura

Takahashi

2012

Heredity

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In many eusocial Hymenoptera, a proportion of males are produced by workers. To assess the effect of male production by workers on the effective population size N e , a general expression of N e in Hymenoptera with worker-produced males is derived on the basis of the genetic drift in the frequency of a neutral allele. Stochastic simulation verifies that the obtained expression gives a good prediction of N e under a wide range of conditions. Numerical computation with the expression indicates that worker reproduction generally reduces N e . The reduction can be serious in populations with a unity or female-biased breeding sex ratio. Worker reproduction may increase N e in populations with a male-biased breeding sex ratio, only if each laying worker produce a small number of males and the difference of male progeny number among workers is not large. Worker reproduction could be an important cause of the generally lower genetic variation found in Hymenoptera, through its effect on N e . Heredity (2012) 109, 261-268; doi:10.1038/hdy.2012.11; published online 5 September 2012Keywords: effective population size; Hymenoptera; worker-produced males INTRODUCTIONEffective population size N e is a crucial parameter in population, conservation and quantitative genetics, because this parameter determines both the rate of inbreeding and the amount of genetic drift in populations (Caballero, 1994;Falconer and Mackay, 1996;Frankham et al., 2002). In haplodiploid species, N e has been predicted by applying Wright's (1933) standard formula for X-linked locus,where N f and N m are the numbers of breeding females and males, respectively. This application is reasonable, as inheritance in haplodiploid species is effectively equivalent to sex-linked inheritance in diploid species (Yokoyama and Nei, 1979;Page and Marks, 1982). Colonies of eusocial Hymenoptera are characterized by a reproductive division of labour. Colonies are founded by mated females (queens), who produce diploid daughters (workers and young queens) and haploid males. Workers do not mate, but they retain ovaries in many species. If workers are sterile, only queens should be counted as the breeding females in the computation of N e . Furthermore, under monogamous mating system as in many Hymenopteran species, both the numbers of queens and males are approximated by the number of nests, giving from equation (1) an estimate of N e as the number of nests multiplied by 1.5 (Ellis et al., 2006). In some species, as honey bees and army ants, a queen mates with more than one male, leading to a biased breeding sex ratio (r ¼ N m /N f ) from unity. In such species, assuming the absence of worker reproduction, N e has been predicted from equation (1) as Page and Marks, 1982). When r is large as in honey bees, 9N f /4, that is, the number of nests multiplied by 9/4, can be a good approximation of N e (Page and Marks, 1982).It is, however, known that under certain conditions, workers lay unfertilized eggs which develop into males (Crozier and Pamilo, 1996). This production of male...

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“…However, in many eusocial insects the workers have fully functioning ovaries and contribute a considerable proportion of the males. Contel and Kerr (1976) using genetic evidence estimated that 39 per cent of the males were sons of workers in a population of the stingless bee Melipona subnitida. Mixed male parentage is also common in wasps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genetics of social hymenoptera with worker produced males

Owen

1980

Heredity

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SUMMARYIn many social Hymenoptera, particularly the bees and wasps, a proportion, ', of the males are produced by the workers. Using deterministic theory for a single 'ocus it is shown that having worker produced males affects the speed of approach to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the equilibrium gene frequency under mutation with counter-selection, the speed of elimination of a deleterious allele and the rate of advance of an advantageous gene. Equilibrium gene frequencies of a balanced polymorphism are shifted by a positive value of fi if there are differences between the male viabilities. For certain male and female viabilities polymorphisms can either be extinguished or generated by having worker produced males. The approach to linkage equilibrium at two loci is either accelerated or retarded, though by not very much, depending on the value of ,,1,, and the recombination rate.

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Origin of males in Melipona subnitida estimated from data of an isozymic polymorphic system

Cited by 60 publications

References 7 publications

Comparative Analysis of Worker Reproduction and Policing in Eusocial Hymenoptera Supports Relatedness Theory

Comparative Analysis of Worker Reproduction and Policing in Eusocial Hymenoptera Supports Relatedness Theory

Effective population size in eusocial Hymenoptera with worker-produced males

Population genetics of social hymenoptera with worker produced males

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