Conflict Over Male Production in Stingless Bees

许多研究都支持亲缘选择理论，该理论预测在群居昆虫群体中会有冲突，但它们会表现出非常程度的合作。一个重要的可能解释是，如果工蚁有集体利益，它们可能会利用自己更多的数量来赢得冲突，并压制其他政党，尤其是蚁后。Strassmann和Queller将在无刺蜜蜂（一种与蜜蜂密切相关的大型热带种群）身上验证这一理论。具体来说，他们将研究男性生育的冲突。使用DNA微卫星标记来精确地“遗传指纹”个体，他们将确定谁产生雄性（蚁后或工蜂），以及这一结果是否表明工蜂直接繁殖还是工蜂的繁殖受到抑制。他们还将进行观察，以测试有关行为冲突程度的理论预测，例如在群体中发生的公开战斗，并将结果与对蜜蜂进行的类似研究进行对比。这项研究有望揭示社会群体中基因冲突的表达和解决方法。这是一个重要的话题，不仅对群居昆虫，而且对所有其他群居生物。它还与其他水平的生物组织的一致性有关，例如多细胞动物和真核细胞。最后，这项研究还将增加对热带传粉昆虫重要群体的基本认识。

Nontechnical Abstract Proposal Number: 9808809 PIs: Strassmann and Queller The theory of kin selection, which has been supported by numerous studies, predicts that there will be conflicts within social insect colonies, yet they display extraordinary degrees of cooperation. An important possible explanation is that if workers have a collective interest, they may use their greater numbers to win conflicts and suppress other parties, in particular the queen. Strassmann and Queller will test this theory in stingless bees, a large, tropical group closely related to honey bees. Specifically, they will study conflict over male production. Using DNA microsatellite markers to precisely "genetically fingerprint" individuals, they will determine who produces the males (queen or workers) and whether this result indicates that workers do reproduce directly or if worker reproduction is suppressed. They will also perform observations to test theoretical predictions about the degree of behavioral conflict such as overt fighting that occurs in colonies, and contrast the results with similar research done on honey bees. This research is expected to reveal much about the expression and resolution of genetic conflicts within social groups. This is a topic of importance not only for social insects, but also for all other social organisms. It also bears on the coherence of other levels of biological organization, such as multicellular animals and the eukaryotic cells. Finally, the research will also increase basic knowledge of an important group of tropical pollinators.