MOLECULAR POPULATION-GENETICS OF SOCIAL INSECTS

Citation
P. Pamilo et al., MOLECULAR POPULATION-GENETICS OF SOCIAL INSECTS, Annual review of ecology and systematics, 28, 1997, pp. 1-25
Citations number
161
ISSN journal
00664162
Volume
28
Year of publication
1997
Pages
1 - 25
Database
ISI
SICI code
0066-4162(1997)28:<1:MPOSI>2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
The life of social insects centers around sedentary colonies that can include individuals belonging to different patrilines or matrilines, w ith a turnover of reproductives. The colony is a scene for both cooper ation and conflicts, and the conceptual framework for the evolution of social life and colony organization is provided by the kin selection theory. Variable molecular markers make it possible to dissect kinship within colonies, identifying patrilines and matrilines and estimating genetic relatednesses. Such markers have been used to test hypotheses on social conflicts between queens and workers (split sex ratio hypot hesis), among workers (worker policing hypothesis), and among reproduc tive females (skew hypothesis). The data from several species of ants, bees, and wasps indicate that workers can obtain information on the g enetic heterogeneity of their colonies and use that information to man ipulate reproductive decisions. The social structure of colonies and t he mode of colony founding affect the population-wide dispersal of sex uals. Populations with multi-queen colonial networks have limited disp ersal; females stay in their natal colonies, and mating flights can be restricted. As a result, coexisting queens tend to be related to each other, maintaining the genetic integrity of colonies, and populations become spatially differentiated to an extent that can lead even to so cially driven speciation.