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

非技术摘要9811612 PI：Hunt，J. 生物学中的一个中心问题是生物体基因与其发育之间的关系。 一个生物体的每个细胞都含有相同的基因，但有些细胞会发育成肝细胞，有些细胞会发育成神经细胞等等。在整个生物体的水平上，当近亲个体（如兄弟姐妹）在不同的环境条件下发育时，也会出现类似的现象，从而导致生长模式或成年形态、生理和行为方面的巨大差异。 群居昆虫的管型发育就是这种现象的最好例子之一。 通过定量探索纸黄蜂，Polistes metricus的皇后和工人之间的许多差异，本研究将探讨可能的解释种姓决定，超越了传统的想法，种姓决定发生在成年人之间的行为相互作用，在这个和其他社会性的物种。 它探讨了大多数种姓差异可能与发展过程中的营养有关的假设。 这些研究的结果可能会对许多社会性昆虫物种中种姓是如何决定的想法产生重要影响。 这些研究对于理解微妙的环境差异如何深刻影响成年人的形态、生理和行为非常重要。

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.