Conflict Over Male Production in Stingless Bees

非技术性摘要提案编号：9808809 PI：Strassmann和Queller亲属选择理论已经得到了许多研究的支持，预测社会性昆虫群体内部会有冲突，但它们表现出非凡的合作程度。 一个重要的可能解释是，如果工人有集体利益，他们可能会利用他们的更大数量来赢得冲突并压制其他政党，特别是女王。 Strassmann和Queller将在无刺蜂中测试这一理论，无刺蜂是一种与蜜蜂密切相关的大型热带群体。具体来说，他们将研究男性生产的冲突。利用DNA微卫星标记来精确地对个体进行“遗传指纹”，他们将确定谁生产雄性（女王或工人），以及这一结果是否表明工人直接繁殖或工人繁殖是否受到抑制。他们还将进行观察，以测试有关行为冲突程度的理论预测，例如在蜂群中发生的公开战斗，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内遗传冲突的表达和解决。 这不仅对社会性昆虫，而且对所有其他社会性生物都是一个重要的话题。 它还与其他生物组织水平的一致性有关，如多细胞动物和真核细胞。 最后，这项研究还将增加对一组重要的热带传粉者的基本知识。

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.