The genetic basis of division of labor - testing the "reproductive ground plan hypothesis" in ants

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Division of labour (DoL) is a defining characteristic of social insects and an important factor for their ecological success. The reproductive groundplan hypothesis (RGPH) postulates that conserved gene networks, which underlie the reproductive physiology and behavior of the solitary insects, were co-opted and modified during the evolution of eusocial insects to generate worker DoL. This hypothesis is potentially of fundamental and far-reaching importance for our understanding of the mechanistic basis by which eusociality evolved, but empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis is still limited to only a few species. Combining the first large scale phylogenetic analysis, state of the art molecular techniques (RNAi) and classic behavioral analysis we will investigate if the RGPH applies to ants and therefore presents a general explanatory framework for the evolution of DoL in social insects.