SGER: A Non-Behavioral Protocol for Queen vs. Worker Discrimination in Paperwasps

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Nontechnical Abstract 9811612 PI: Hunt, J. A central problem in biology is the relationship between an organisms genes and its development. Each cell of an organism contains the same genes and yet some develop into liver cells, others into nerve cells and so on. A similar phenomenon at the whole-organism level occurs when closely related individuals, say siblings, develop in different environment conditions that lead to substantial differences in the growth patterns or adult morphology, physiology and behavior. Cast development in social insects is one of the best examples of this phenomenon. By quantitatively exploring the many differences between queens and workers in the paper wasp, Polistes metricus, this research will explore possible explanations for caste determination that go beyond the traditional idea that caste determination occurs through behavioral interactions among adults in this and other primitively social species. It explores the hypothesis that most caste differences can be linked to nutrition during development. The outcomes of these studies could have an important impact on ideas about how caste is determined in many social insect species. Such studies are important for understanding the ways in which subtle environmental differences can profoundly influence adult morphology, physiology and behavior.