Choosing when to be sexual: clonal and sexual reproduction in a population of honey bees

性爱是昂贵的。寻找配偶是有成本的，后代的基因组必须与交配的伴侣共享。尽管付出了这些代价，但性行为在动物中很常见，所以性行为的好处肯定是巨大的。好处可能包括防止近亲繁殖和产生可变后代。探索有性繁殖和克隆之间的权衡需要一个模型系统，在这个模型系统中，个人可以选择有性繁殖或无性繁殖。该项目将探索一群蜜蜂，在那里，一种基因突变允许蜂王克隆自己或有性繁殖。我们将揭示这种能力背后不同寻常的遗传机制，并展示它们是如何被蜂王和工蚁用来增加它们的繁殖成功的。

Sex is costly. There is the cost of finding a mate and the genome of offspring must be shared with the mating partner. Despite these costs, sex is common in animals, so the benefits of sex must be substantial. Benefits may include the prevention of inbreeding and generating variable offspring. Exploring the trade off between sex and cloning requires a model system where individuals can choose to reproduce sexually or asexually. This project will explore a population of honey bees where a genetic mutation allows queens to clone themselves or reproduce sexually. We will reveal the unusual genetic mechanisms behind this ability and show how they are used by queens and workers to increase their reproductive success.