High Genetic Relatedness among Nestmate Queens in the Polygynous Ponerine Ant Gnamptogenys striatula in Brazil

Gnamptogenys striatula is a polygynous ant species, in which all workers are potentially able to mate. The reproductive status, relatedness and pedigree relationships among nestmate queens and winged females in a Brazilian population were investigated. We collected all the sexual females of 12 colon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2001-01, Vol.49 (2/3), p.128-134
Main Authors: Giraud, T., R. Blatrix, C. Poteaux, Solignac, M., P. Jaisson
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Ants
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Brazil
Colonies
Female animals
Folktales
Formicidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gnamptogenys striatula
Insect behavior
Insect colonies
Insect genetics
Insect reproduction
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Queen insects
Social insects
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Summary:Gnamptogenys striatula is a polygynous ant species, in which all workers are potentially able to mate. The reproductive status, relatedness and pedigree relationships among nestmate queens and winged females in a Brazilian population were investigated. We collected all the sexual females of 12 colonies (2-44 queens per colony, plus 2-18 winged females in 3 colonies). Dissections revealed that 98% of the queens were inseminated and that the queens in the most polygynous colonies did not lay equal numbers of eggs. The sexual females and a sample of the population were genotyped using eight microsatellite markers. Relatedness among nestmate queens was among the highest recorded to date (0.65±0.25), and tests of pedigree relationship showed that they were likely to be full-sisters, and sometimes cousins. Mated winged females were always full-sisters, the estimated genetically effective queen numbers were low and tests of pedigree relationship showed that only a few queens in the colony could be the mothers. These results suggest that the high queen-queen relatedness in polygynous colonies of G. striatula is maintained by an unusual mechanism: winged females are mostly produced by only one or a few queens, and these groups of full-sisters are recruited back into their original nest after mating.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s002650000284