Development and evolution of caste dimorphism in honeybees – a modeling approach

Ecology and Evolution

Olof Leimar¹  Klaus Hartfelder²  Manfred D. Laubichler¹ 

[1] Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany;Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

关键词: Caste determination;    developmental evolution;    plasticity;    polyphenism;    social insects;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.414

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

The difference in phenotypes of queens and workers is a hallmark of the highly eusocial insects. The caste dimorphism is often described as a switch-controlled polyphenism, in which environmental conditions decide an individual's caste. Using theoretical modeling and empirical data from honeybees, we show that there is no discrete larval developmental switch. Instead, a combination of larval developmental plasticity and nurse worker feeding behavior make up a colony-level social and physiological system that regulates development and produces the caste dimorphism. Discrete queen and worker phenotypes are the result of discrete feeding regimes imposed by nurses, whereas a range of experimental feeding regimes produces a continuous range of phenotypes. Worker ovariole numbers are reduced through feeding-regime-mediated reduction in juvenile hormone titers, involving reduced sugar in the larval food. Based on the mechanisms identified in our analysis, we propose a scenario of the evolutionary history of honeybee development and feeding regimes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.