Foraging Range Expansion and Colony Genetic Organization in the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Foraging Range Expansion and Colony Genetic Organization in the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
复制标题
地下白蚁 Reticulitermes flavipes（等翅目：鼻白蚁科）的觅食范围扩大和群体遗传组织
DOI：
10.1603/0046-225x-31.2.293
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发表时间：
2002
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
J. Traniello
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
M. S. Bulmer;J. Traniello
摘要我们对散白蚁的觅食和空间利用的了解是有限的，因为它们的地下群体与不同的物理巢结构无关，而且工作者的殖民地亲和力不能用行为测定法很容易地确定。最近，我们发现在马萨诸塞州的黄足散白蚁（Reticulitermes flavipes（Kollar））群体中，用5种多态性等位酶测量的平均群体近交系数显著大于零，非孟德尔群体的工蚁基因型对应于多个近交的次级繁殖体的后代，而不是雄性和雌性初级繁殖体。具有正近亲繁殖系数的白蚁觅食群体表明，在倒下的树木和树枝上觅食的工人往往来自不同的生殖中心。正的近交系数似乎是由于觅食交通，而不是从二次繁殖的近亲繁殖。群体近交系数和群体觅食范围之间的正相关性非孟德尔殖民地建议，独立的生殖中心的数量和/或从不同的中心生殖之间的等位基因频率对比增加与扩大一个殖民地的觅食面积。这是不可能的，在一个单一的生殖中心繁殖群体的细分的增加将密切配合觅食范围的增加。然而，随着觅食范围的扩大，来自相邻蚁群的工蚁之间的混合程度可能会增加，特别是考虑到R.黄足。然而，觅食从邻近殖民地有很高的遗传差异，因此似乎保持不同的觅食区。
Abstract Our understanding of foraging and space use in Reticulitermes species is limited because their subterranean colonies are not associated with distinct physical nest structures and the colony affinity of workers cannot be readily identified with behavioral assays. Recently, we found that in Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) colonies from Massachusetts, the average colony inbreeding coefficient, measured with five polymorphic allozymes, was significantly greater than zero for non-Mendelian colonies with worker genotypes corresponding with the offspring of multiple inbreeding secondary reproductives rather than male and female primary reproductives. Foraging groups of termites with positive inbreeding coefficients suggest that workers feeding at fallen trees and branches frequently originate from different reproductive centers. The positive inbreeding coefficients appear to result from foraging traffic and not from inbreeding among secondary reproductives. A positive correlation between colony inbreeding coefficients and colony foraging range for non-Mendelian colonies suggested that the number of separate reproductive centers and/or the allele frequency contrasts between reproductives from separate centers increased with the expansion of a colony’s foraging area. It is unlikely that an increase in the subdivision of breeding groups in a single reproductive center would closely coincide with an increase in foraging range. However, the extent of mixing between workers from neighboring colonies could have increased with foraging range expansion, especially given the apparent lack of nestmate discrimination in R. flavipes. Nevertheless, foragers from neighboring colonies have high genetic contrasts, and therefore appear to maintain distinct foraging areas.