Abstract
A defining feature of social insects is the differentiation of colony members into either royal or worker castes. It is widely believed that caste is determined by environmental factors, with genotype playing little or no role. Social insects are thus considered key examples of polyphenism. In termites, various data support environmental caste determination (ECD) in two of the seven families; however, the evidence is less clear-cut for the other five. An alternative to ECD is genetically influenced caste determination (GCD), in which genotype has a significant influence over caste. We have recently discovered the first case of GCD of royals and workers in a termite. Here we examine previous colony composition studies of various termite species, and we find a number of results that are suggestive of GCD. On the basis of these results, we suggest that ECD should not necessarily be assumed for most termite families, and we outline methods for testing between ECD and GCD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 848-853 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | American Naturalist |
| Volume | 173 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 Jun 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Kin selection
- Social insect
- Sociobiology
- Sterility
- Worker
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cite this
Should environmental caste determination be assumed for termites? / Lo, Nathan; Hayashi, Yoshinobu; Kitade, Osamu.
In: American Naturalist, Vol. 173, No. 6, 01.06.2009, p. 848-853.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Should environmental caste determination be assumed for termites?
AU - Lo, Nathan
AU - Hayashi, Yoshinobu
AU - Kitade, Osamu
PY - 2009/6/1
Y1 - 2009/6/1
N2 - A defining feature of social insects is the differentiation of colony members into either royal or worker castes. It is widely believed that caste is determined by environmental factors, with genotype playing little or no role. Social insects are thus considered key examples of polyphenism. In termites, various data support environmental caste determination (ECD) in two of the seven families; however, the evidence is less clear-cut for the other five. An alternative to ECD is genetically influenced caste determination (GCD), in which genotype has a significant influence over caste. We have recently discovered the first case of GCD of royals and workers in a termite. Here we examine previous colony composition studies of various termite species, and we find a number of results that are suggestive of GCD. On the basis of these results, we suggest that ECD should not necessarily be assumed for most termite families, and we outline methods for testing between ECD and GCD.
AB - A defining feature of social insects is the differentiation of colony members into either royal or worker castes. It is widely believed that caste is determined by environmental factors, with genotype playing little or no role. Social insects are thus considered key examples of polyphenism. In termites, various data support environmental caste determination (ECD) in two of the seven families; however, the evidence is less clear-cut for the other five. An alternative to ECD is genetically influenced caste determination (GCD), in which genotype has a significant influence over caste. We have recently discovered the first case of GCD of royals and workers in a termite. Here we examine previous colony composition studies of various termite species, and we find a number of results that are suggestive of GCD. On the basis of these results, we suggest that ECD should not necessarily be assumed for most termite families, and we outline methods for testing between ECD and GCD.
KW - Kin selection
KW - Social insect
KW - Sociobiology
KW - Sterility
KW - Worker
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650237112&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67650237112&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/598498
DO - 10.1086/598498
M3 - Article
C2 - 19355816
AN - SCOPUS:67650237112
VL - 173
SP - 848
EP - 853
JO - American Naturalist
JF - American Naturalist
SN - 0003-0147
IS - 6
ER -