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Naturwissenschaften

Title:		Surface lipids of queen-laid eggs do not regulate queen production in a fission-performing ant
Author(s):		Ruel C; Lenoir A; Cerda X; Boulay R;
Address:		"Estacion Biologica de Donana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Avenida Americo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Seville, Spain. camille.ruel@gmail.com"
Journal Title:		Naturwissenschaften
Year:		2013
Volume:		20121208
Issue:		1
Page Number:		91 - 100
DOI:		10.1007/s00114-012-0997-y
ISSN/ISBN:		1432-1904 (Electronic) 0028-1042 (Linking)
Abstract:		"In animal societies, most collective and individual decision making depends on the presence of reproductive individuals. The efficient transmission of information among reproductive and non-reproductive individuals is therefore a determinant of colony organization. In social insects, the presence of a queen modulates multiple colonial activities. In many species, it negatively affects worker reproduction and the development of diploid larvae into future queens. The queen mostly signals her presence through pheromone emission, but the means by which these chemicals are distributed in the colony are still unclear. In several ant species, queen-laid eggs are the vehicle of the queen signal. The aim of this study was to investigate whether queen-laid eggs of the ant Aphaenogaster senilis possess queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbons and/or Dufour or poison gland compounds, and whether the presence of eggs inhibited larval development into queens. Our results show that the queen- and worker-laid eggs shared cuticular and Dufour hydrocarbons with the adults; however, their poison gland compounds were not similar. Queen-laid eggs had more dimethylalkanes and possessed a queen-specific mixture of cuticular hydrocarbons composed of 3,11 + 3,9 + 3,7-dimethylnonacosane, in higher proportions than did worker-laid eggs. Even though the queen-laid eggs were biochemically similar to the queen, their addition to experimentally queenless groups did not prevent the development of new queens. More studies are needed on the means by which queen ant pheromones are transmitted in the colony, and how these mechanisms correlates with life history traits"
Keywords:		Animals Ants/chemistry/growth & development/*physiology Female Hydrocarbons/chemistry Larva/growth & development Ovum/chemistry Pheromones/chemistry/physiology Time Factors;
Notes:		"MedlineRuel, Camille Lenoir, Alain Cerda, Xim Boulay, Raphael eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Germany 2012/12/12 Naturwissenschaften. 2013 Jan; 100(1):91-100. doi: 10.1007/s00114-012-0997-y. Epub 2012 Dec 8"