Male fire ant neurotransmitter precursors trigger reproductive development in females after mating

Social insect queens have evolved mechanisms to prevent competition from their sexual daughters. For Solenopsis invicta , the fire ant, queens have evolved a primer pheromone that retards reproductive development in their winged reproductive daughters. If these daughters are removed from the influen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communications biology 2021-12, Vol.4 (1), p.1400-1400, Article 1400
Main Authors: Vander Meer, Robert K., Chinta, Satya P., Jones, Tappey H., O’Reilly, Erin E., Adams, Rachelle M. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/45/607
631/601/1466
631/92/604
82/58
Animal reproduction
Animals
Ants - physiology
Biology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Female
Females
Hemolymph
Life Sciences
Male
Males
Mating
Neurotransmitter Agents - metabolism
Queen pheromone
Reproduction
Reproductive system
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Tyramine
Tyramine - analogs & derivatives
Tyramine - metabolism
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Summary:Social insect queens have evolved mechanisms to prevent competition from their sexual daughters. For Solenopsis invicta , the fire ant, queens have evolved a primer pheromone that retards reproductive development in their winged reproductive daughters. If these daughters are removed from the influence of the queen, it takes about a week to start reproductive development; however, it starts almost immediately after mating. This dichotomy has been unsuccessfully investigated for several decades. Here we show that male fire ants produce tyramides, derivatives of the biogenic amine tyramine, in their reproductive system. Males transfer tyramides to winged females during mating, where the now newly mated queens enzymatically convert tyramides to tyramine. Tyramine floods the hemolymph, rapidly activating physiological processes associated with reproductive development. Tyramides have been found only in the large Myrmicinae ant sub-family (6,800 species), We suggest that the complex inhibition/disinhibition of reproductive development described here will be applicable to other members of this ant sub-family. Vander Meer et al. investigate the mechanisms of male involvement in reproductive development in fire ant newly mated queens. The authors find that males produce tyramide compounds that, when transferred to females during mating, are converted to bioactive molecules that trigger wing loss, ovary development, and queen pheromone production.
ISSN:2399-3642
2399-3642
DOI:10.1038/s42003-021-02921-5