Ant cuticular hydrocarbons are heritable and associated with variation in colony productivity
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Ant cuticular hydrocarbons are heritable and associated with variation in colony productivity. / Walsh, Justin; Pontieri, Luigi; d'Ettorre, Patrizia; Linksvayer, Timothy A.
I: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Bind 287, Nr. 1928, 20201029, 2020.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Ant cuticular hydrocarbons are heritable and associated with variation in colony productivity
AU - Walsh, Justin
AU - Pontieri, Luigi
AU - d'Ettorre, Patrizia
AU - Linksvayer, Timothy A.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - In social insects, cuticular hydrocarbons function in nest-mate recognition and also provide a waxy barrier against desiccation, but basic evolutionary features, including the heritability of hydrocarbon profiles and how they are shaped by natural selection are largely unknown. We used a new pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) laboratory mapping population to estimate the heritability of individual cuticular hydrocarbons, genetic correlations between hydrocarbons, and fitness consequences of phenotypic variation in the hydrocarbons. Individual hydrocarbons had low to moderate estimated heritability, indicating that some compounds provide more information about genetic relatedness and can also better respond to natural selection. Strong genetic correlations between compounds are likely to constrain independent evolutionary trajectories, which is expected, given that many hydrocarbons share biosynthetic pathways. Variation in cuticular hydrocarbons was associated with variation in colony productivity, with some hydrocarbons experiencing strong directional selection. Altogether, this study builds on our knowledge of the genetic architecture of the social insect hydrocarbon profile and indicates that hydrocarbon variation is shaped by natural selection.
AB - In social insects, cuticular hydrocarbons function in nest-mate recognition and also provide a waxy barrier against desiccation, but basic evolutionary features, including the heritability of hydrocarbon profiles and how they are shaped by natural selection are largely unknown. We used a new pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) laboratory mapping population to estimate the heritability of individual cuticular hydrocarbons, genetic correlations between hydrocarbons, and fitness consequences of phenotypic variation in the hydrocarbons. Individual hydrocarbons had low to moderate estimated heritability, indicating that some compounds provide more information about genetic relatedness and can also better respond to natural selection. Strong genetic correlations between compounds are likely to constrain independent evolutionary trajectories, which is expected, given that many hydrocarbons share biosynthetic pathways. Variation in cuticular hydrocarbons was associated with variation in colony productivity, with some hydrocarbons experiencing strong directional selection. Altogether, this study builds on our knowledge of the genetic architecture of the social insect hydrocarbon profile and indicates that hydrocarbon variation is shaped by natural selection.
KW - cuticular hydrocarbons
KW - genetic correlations
KW - heritability
KW - nest-mate recognition
KW - selection
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2020.1029
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2020.1029
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32517627
AN - SCOPUS:85086356046
VL - 287
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8452
IS - 1928
M1 - 20201029
ER -
ID: 244237089