Workers do not mediate the inhibitory power of queens in a termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera : Rhinotermitidae)
Workers do not mediate the inhibitory power of queens in a termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera : Rhinotermitidae)
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工蚁不介导白蚁 Reticulitermes speratus（等翅目：鼻白蚁科）中蚁后的抑制能力
DOI：
10.1007/s00040-011-0170-1
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发表时间：
2011
期刊：
影响因子：
1.3
通讯作者：
Y.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Matsuura;K.;Yamamoto;Y.
在社会性昆虫中，种姓制度是基于生殖分工的;蚁后专门从事生殖，工蚁主要维护殖民地。最近，一种含有正丁酸丁酯和2-甲基-1-丁醇的挥发性信息素被鉴定为白蚁蜂王信息素，其抑制雌性幼期生殖蚁（次级蚁后）的分化。虽然这种挥发性抑制信息素直接调节种姓分化，但它到达成员而不直接接触大型殖民地女王的方法还不清楚。因此，必须存在间接通信的额外机制，例如工蜂介导的蜂王信号传递。我们发现，工人暴露于雌性生殖器不介导蚁后的抑制信号在一个Reticulitermes speratus。实验评估工人从直接到间接接触组的转移，并确定新的女性生殖在间接接触组的分化不受直接接触组的影响，而直接接触功能的女性生殖和人工女王信息素抑制幼态分化。这表明，工作者转移的女王信号是不太可能的，并为整个殖民地的抑制直接接触的大多数不育成员与生殖或鸡蛋，其中散发出相同的挥发物作为女性生殖，是必要的在一定的时间间隔内。
In social insects, the caste systems are based on reproductive division of labor; queens specialize in reproduction and workers primarily maintain the colony. Recently, a volatile pheromone containingn-butyl-n-butyrate and 2-methyl-1-butanol was identified as a termite queen pheromone that inhibits the differentiation of female neotenic reproductives (secondary queens). Although this volatile inhibitory pheromone regulates caste differentiation directly, the method by which it reaches members without direct contact with the queen in large colonies is not well understood. Therefore, additional mechanisms of indirect communication must exist, such as worker-mediated queen signal transport. We found that workers exposed to female reproductives did not mediate queens’ inhibitory signal in a termiteReticulitermes speratus. The experiment assessed worker transfer from direct to indirect contact groups and determined that the differentiation of new female reproductives in the indirect contact groups was not influenced by the direct contact groups, whereas direct contact with functional female reproductives and artificial queen pheromone did suppress neotenic differentiation. This suggests that worker transfer of the queen signal is unlikely and that for colony-wide inhibition direct contact by the majority of infertile members with reproductives or eggs, which emit the same volatiles as female reproductives, is necessary within a certain time interval.