Department of Biology, McGill University, Avenue Dr Penfield, Montreal, Quebec H3A1B1, Canada.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010 Feb 27;365(1540):617-30. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0257.
The reproductive division of labour is a key feature of eusociality in ants, where queen and worker castes show dramatic differences in the development of their reproductive organs. To understand the developmental and genetic basis underlying this division of labour, we performed a molecular analysis of ovary function and germ cell development in queens and workers. We show that the processes of ovarian development in queens have been highly conserved relative to the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. We also identify specific steps during oogenesis and embryogenesis in which ovarian and germ cell development have been evolutionarily modified in the workers. These modifications, which we call 'reproductive constraints', are often assumed to represent neutral degenerations that are a consequence of social evolutionary forces. Based on our developmental and functional analysis of these constraints, however, we propose and discuss the alternative hypothesis that reproductive constraints represent adaptive proximate mechanisms or traits for maintaining social harmony in ants. We apply a multi-level selection framework to help understand the role of these constraints in ant social evolution. A complete understanding of how cooperation, conflict and developmental systems evolve in social groups requires a 'socio-evo-devo' approach that integrates social evolutionary and developmental biology.
生殖分工是蚂蚁真社会性的一个关键特征，在蚂蚁中，蚁后和工蚁在生殖器官的发育上表现出显著的差异。为了理解这种分工的发育和遗传基础，我们对蚁后和工蚁的卵巢功能和生殖细胞发育进行了分子分析。结果表明，与果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）相比，蚁后卵巢的发育过程具有高度的保守性。我们还发现了在生殖细胞发育过程中，有特定的步骤在工蚁中经历了进化修饰，我们将这些修饰称为“生殖约束”。这些约束通常被认为是社会进化力量导致的中性退化。然而，基于我们对这些约束的发育和功能分析，我们提出并讨论了替代假设，即生殖约束代表了维持蚂蚁社会和谐的适应性近因机制或特征。我们应用多层次选择框架来帮助理解这些约束在蚂蚁社会进化中的作用。要全面了解合作、冲突和发育系统如何在社会群体中进化，需要一种“社会-进化-发育”的方法，将社会进化和发育生物学结合起来。
