Article
A simple genetic basis for complex social behaviour mediates widespread gene expression differences.
Molecular ecology - 1 Jul 2013
Nipitwattanaphon Mingkwan, Wang John, Dijkstra Michiel B, Keller Laurent
Abstract excerpt
A remarkable social polymorphism is controlled by a single Mendelian factor in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. A genomic element marked by the gene Gp-9 determines whether workers tolerate one or many fertile queens in their colony. Gp-9 was recently shown to be part of a supergene with two nonrecombining variants, SB and Sb. SB/SB and SB/Sb queens differ in how they initiate new colonies, and in many...
Topics
- Alleles
- Animals
- Ants
- Behavior, Animal
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Phylogeny
- Polymorphism, Genetic
- Reproduction
- Social Behavior