Facultative asexual reproduction and genetic diversity of populations in the humivorous termite Cavitermes tuberosus

0462263 - ÚOCHB 2017 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Fournier, D. - Hellemans, S. - Hanus, Robert - Roisin, Y.
Facultative asexual reproduction and genetic diversity of populations in the humivorous termite Cavitermes tuberosus.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. Roč. 283, č. 1832 (2016), č. článku 20160196. ISSN 0962-8452. E-ISSN 1471-2954
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-12774S
Institutional support: RVO:61388963
Keywords : thelytokous parthenogenesis * breeding systems * termites * reproductive strategies * Isoptera * Termitidae
Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology
Impact factor: 4.940, year: 2016

Sexual reproduction is a dominant, but not universal mode of organismal reproduction. In some cases, it is replaced or combined with asexual processes, such as parthenogenesis. We report here on a new case of a unique reproductive strategy identified in termites, called asexual queen succession. In the colonies of Cavitermes tuberosus, the sterile helpers (workers and soldiers) and dispersing reproductives are produced through a classical sexual process from queen's eggs fertilized by the king, but non-dispersing neotenic queens are produced through parthenogenesis from unfertilized eggs laid by the founding queen. These parthenogens replace the founding queen and continue reproducing with the king, maintaining thus a full genetic contribution of the queen to next generations while allowing the desired genetic diversity of working and dispersing offspring. Comparison of cytological mechanisms underlying the parthenogenetic process in different termite lineages, asexual queen succession appears to have evolved multiple time independently in termites.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0261743