Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Research and Development Department, Fumakilla Limited, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 29;16(4):e0246710. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246710. eCollection 2021.
We report comprehensive evidence for obligatory thelytokous parthenogenesis in an ant Monomorium triviale. This species is characterized by distinct queen-worker dimorphism with strict reproductive division of labor: queens produce both workers and new queens without mating, whereas workers are completely sterile. We collected 333 nests of this species from 14 localities and three laboratory-reared populations in Japan. All wild queens dissected had no sperm in their spermathecae. Laboratory observation confirmed that virgin queens produced workers without mating. Furthermore, microsatellite genotyping showed identical heterozygous genotypes between mothers and their respective daughters, suggesting an extremely low probability of sexual reproduction. Microbial analysis detected no bacterial genera that are known to induce thelytokous parthenogenesis in Hymenoptera. Finally, the lack of variation in partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA among individuals sampled from across Japan suggests recent rapid spread or selective sweep. M. triviale would be a promising model system of superorganism-like adaptation through comparative analysis with well-studied sexual congeners, including the pharaoh ant M. pharaonis.
我们报道了一种名为 Monomorium triviale 的蚂蚁中强制性孤雌生殖的综合证据。该物种的特征是存在明显的女王-工蚁二态性，具有严格的生殖分工：女王无需交配即可产生工蚁和新女王，而工蚁则完全不育。我们从日本的 14 个地点和三个实验室饲养的种群中收集了 333 个该物种的巢穴。解剖的所有野生女王的精囊中均没有精子。实验室观察证实，处女女王无需交配即可产生工蚁。此外，微卫星基因分型显示母亲与其各自女儿之间的杂合基因型完全相同，表明有性生殖的可能性极低。微生物分析未检测到已知在膜翅目昆虫中诱导孤雌生殖的细菌属。最后，从日本各地采样的个体之间线粒体 DNA 部分序列的缺乏变异表明最近的快速传播或选择清除。M. triviale 将成为超级生物体样适应的有前途的模型系统，通过与包括法老蚁 M. pharaonis 在内的研究充分的有性近缘种进行比较分析。
