The origin and evolution of social insect queen pheromones: Novel hypotheses and outstanding problems.
Bioessays
; 37(7): 808-21, 2015 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25916998
ABSTRACT
Queen pheromones, which signal the presence of a fertile queen and induce daughter workers to remain sterile, are considered to play a key role in regulating the reproductive division of labor of insect societies. Although queen pheromones were long thought to be highly taxon-specific, recent studies have shown that structurally related long-chain hydrocarbons act as conserved queen signals across several independently evolved lineages of social insects. These results imply that social insect queen pheromones are very ancient and likely derived from an ancestral signalling system that was already present in their common solitary ancestors. Based on these new insights, we here review the literature and speculate on what signal precursors social insect queen pheromones may have evolved from. Furthermore, we provide compelling evidence that these pheromones should best be seen as honest signals of fertility as opposed to suppressive agents that chemically sterilize the workers against their own best interests.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Atractivos Sexuales
/
Hormonas de Insectos
/
Insectos
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Bioessays
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article