Loading…

Association between caste and genotype in the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt (Isoptera: Mastotermitidae)

Termite workers and soldiers differ markedly in their morphology and behaviour. We sought evidence for genetic influences on caste determination in the giant northern termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, by investigating if workers and soldiers from the same colony differed genetically. The genotypes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian journal of entomology 2003-03, Vol.42 (1), p.1-5
Main Authors: Goodisman, Michael A D, Crozier, Ross H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Termite workers and soldiers differ markedly in their morphology and behaviour. We sought evidence for genetic influences on caste determination in the giant northern termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis, by investigating if workers and soldiers from the same colony differed genetically. The genotypes of 795 termites from 11 distinct colonies were assayed at six polymorphic microsatellite loci. We found that the multilocus genotypes of workers and soldiers from 8 of the 11 colonies did not differ significantly. Thus, the majority of the data provided no evidence for a genetic association with caste in workers and soldiers of M. darwiniensis. However, the genotype frequencies of workers and soldiers from three colonies differed, suggesting that genotype is occasionally associated with caste in this species. The genetic differentiation of castes within these colonies could reflect differences in the propensities of termites with distinct genotypes to develop into particular castes and provide a selective advantage to colonies headed by multiple reproductives.
ISSN:1326-6756
1440-6055
DOI:10.1046/j.1440-6055.2003.00320.x