Hierarchical perception of fertility signals and nestmate recognition cues in two dolichoderine ants

Cournault, Laurent; Biseau, Jean‐Christophe de

doi:10.1007/s00265-009-0769-7

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…These esters as well the hydrocarbon compounds in their DG may be used as signals by conspecific queens, gynes, males or workers. While we only focused on the signaling role of the secretion to other workers, the gland may contain multiple signals targeting different individuals, as occurs with CHCs which signal both fertility and nestmate identity in many social insects 50,54 , or with the honey bee queen mandibular pheromone, which functions as a primer pheromone to both workers and males, and a sex pheromone to males 55,56 . In Bombus terrestris, the main role of the DG worker-specific signals is in the interactions among workers 8,21,34,57 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

Derstine

Villar

Orlova

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Reproductive division of labor in insect societies is regulated through multiple concurrent mechanisms, primarily chemical and behavioral. Here, we examined if the Dufour’s gland secretion in the primitively eusocial bumble bee Bombus impatiens signals information about caste, social condition, and reproductive status. We chemically analyzed Dufour’s gland contents across castes, age groups, social and reproductive conditions, and examined worker behavioral and antennal responses to gland extracts. We found that workers and queens each possess caste-specific compounds in their Dufour’s glands. Queens and gynes differed from workers based on the presence of diterpene compounds which were absent in workers, whereas four esters were exclusive to workers. These esters, as well as the total amounts of hydrocarbons in the gland, provided a separation between castes and also between fertile and sterile workers. Olfactometer bioassays demonstrated attraction of workers to Dufour’s gland extracts that did not represent a reproductive conflict, while electroantennogram recordings showed higher overall antennal sensitivity in queenless workers. Our results demonstrate that compounds in the Dufour’s gland act as caste- and physiology-specific signals and are used by workers to discriminate between workers of different social and reproductive status.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

Derstine

Villar

Orlova

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…For example, Le Conte and Hefetz (Le Conte and Hefetz, 2008) proposed a hierarchical model based on worker perception thresholds that assumed that non-nestmate recognition had the lowest discrimination threshold and that subsequent perception of fertility signals necessitated prior acceptance of nestmate status. There is experimental evidence both for (Le Conte and Hefetz, 2008;Cournault and de Biseau, 2009) and against (Moore and Liebig, 2010) this model. Regardless of whether this perception model holds true for most social insects, our data confirm the idea that Denis et al (Denis et al, 2006) and Le Conte and Hefetz (Le Conte and Hefetz, 2008) put forth that individual cuticular compounds can serve multiple functions as signals in different contexts.…”

Section: Hydrocarbon Bioassaymentioning

confidence: 95%

A conserved fertility signal despite population variation in the cuticular chemical phenotype of the trap-jaw antOdontomachus brunneus

Smith

Millar

Hanks

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYContact pheromones in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons are widespread among insects. Eusocial insects present a special challenge for understanding the evolution of the cuticular hydrocarbon profile because this blend is responsible for multiple distinct roles such as nestmate recognition and signalling fertility status. This study investigates these two signalling roles of the hydrocarbon profile in the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus brunneus. We demonstrate that the cuticular hydrocarbon profile is highly variable across populations and provide evidence that these differences are used for nestmate discrimination. Through manipulative experiments we also show that (Z)-9-nonacosene (Z9:C 29 ) is used as a fertility signal and its role is conserved across populations. Our data demonstrate that both fertility and nestmate signalling influence the cuticular hydrocarbon profile and specifically the relative abundance of Z9:C 29 on the cuticle of O. brunneus. Our study suggests that natural selection works on the cuticular chemical profile through multiple regulatory pathways, diversifying nestmate signals while conserving fertility signals.

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“…related queens) and reject unrelated queens produced by foreign colonies (Nonacs 1988;Pamilo 1991). In many polygyne ant species, workers are indeed more tolerant towards additional nestmate queens than towards foreign queens (Stuart et al 1993;Evans 1996b;Kikuchi et al 2007;Vasquez & Silverman 2008;Cournault & de Biseau 2009). Moreover, the relatedness among queens established in polygyne colonies is generally similar to the relatedness among nestmate workers, as expected if colonies recruit daughter queens (Crozier & Pamilo 1996;Chapuisat & Keller 1999).…”

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confidence: 92%

Queen acceptance in a socially polymorphic ant

Meunier¹,

Reber²,

Chapuisat³

2011

Animal Behaviour

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A central question in social evolution is what processes regulate the number of breeders in each social group. Here, we tested whether differences in the rate of acceptance of new queens by resident workers could be a proximate cause explaining the coexistence of single-and multiple-queen colonies in an ant population. We found that Formica selysi workers discriminated against foreign (non-nestmate) queens, which contributes to maintaining the genetic integrity of the social group essential to kin selection. All the young and newly mated foreign queens introduced into experimental groups of workers died within 48 h. In contrast, workers frequently accepted young newly mated nestmate queens. The survival of nestmate queens was not significantly lower in groups of workers originating from single-queen colonies than in groups of workers originating from multiple-queen colonies. Finally, virgin queens had significantly higher survival than mated queens. Together, these results show that the maintenance of singlequeen and multiple-queen colonies in the same population is unlikely to be caused by strong differences between the two types of colonies in their rate of acceptance of new queens by workers. They also suggest that the discrimination of queens by resident workers restricts the dispersal of foreign queens among colonies, but not the acceptance of additional nestmate queens.

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Hierarchical perception of fertility signals and nestmate recognition cues in two dolichoderine ants

Cited by 14 publications

References 32 publications

Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

A conserved fertility signal despite population variation in the cuticular chemical phenotype of the trap-jaw antOdontomachus brunneus

Queen acceptance in a socially polymorphic ant

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