Ancestral complexity and constrained diversification of the ant olfactory system

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 292(2045)

Published: April 1, 2025

Communication is a cornerstone of social living, allowing the exchange information to align goals and synchronize behaviour. Ants, group highly successful insects, have heightened olfactory abilities that are integral their evolutionary success. Essential for colony cohesion cooperation, female-specific subsystem processes about nestmate recognition cues (cuticular hydrocarbons), including basiconic sensilla on antenna cluster specific glomeruli in antennal lobe. While it has often been linked ants' lifestyle, origins phylogenetic distribution this system remain unknown. We conducted comparative exploration ant across eight major subfamilies, integrating neuroanatomical, chemical behavioural analyses. Our findings reveal sophistication deep roots. Moreover, lobe investment not associated with traits such as size, polygyny or foraging strategies, but correlates cuticular hydrocarbon profile complexity. Despite neuroanatomical differences, different species consistently excel discrimination, indicating adaptation diversity while maintaining reliable recognition. This suggests neuronal neuropil co-evolved sustain discrimination performance.

Language: Английский

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Evolution of odorant receptor repertoires across Hymenoptera is not linked to the evolution of eusociality

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 291(2031)

Published: Sept. 1, 2024

Communication is essential for social organisms. In eusocial insects, olfaction facilitates communication and recognition between nestmates. The study of certain model organisms has led to the hypothesis that odorant receptors are expanded in Hymenoptera. This become a widely mentioned idea literature, albeit with conflicting reports, not been tested broad comparative analysis. Here we combined existing genomic new neuroanatomical data, including from an approximately 100 Myr old fossil ant, across phylogenetically sample hymenopteran lineages. We find no evidence variation size evolutionary tempo receptor repertoires related eusociality. Post hoc exploration our data hinted at loss flight as possible factor shaping some OR Nevertheless, analyses revealed complex pattern variation, raise questions about ecological, behavioural factors shape olfactory abilities.

Language: Английский

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Lineage-specific patterns of sexually dimorphic antennal transcription in the paper waspPolistes fuscatus

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: July 31, 2024

Olfaction mediates many behaviors in social Hymenoptera, with sexual dimorphism antennal transcription associated different between sexes. Females display coordinated within colonies, while males exhibit limited behavior but are selected for finding mates. The expanded "9-exon" odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamily is chemical communication and exhibits strongly female biased ants honey bees. Polistine wasps represent an independent evolution of sociality expansion 9-exon ORs, though expression patterns unknown. Here, we report distinct sexually dimorphic OR Polistes fuscatus compared to Most P. transcripts were detected at similar levels females, some male biased. We also differential cytochromes P450 muscle-related genes discuss these the context unique wasps, including prolonged mating aggregations tapping curling during courtship copulation. These results call attention lineage-specific selective pressures shaping insects.

Language: Английский

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Unicolonial ants: Loss of colony identity

Elsevier eBooks, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Jan. 1, 2024

Language: Английский

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Issue Information

Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 98(6)

Published: Nov. 5, 2023

The journal aims to cover the whole field of biology, in particular growth areas modern biology.Articles range from comprehensive reviews a broad research shorter articles on more specialised topics, and very great flexibility content presentation is allowed.Articles are pitched at level for experts research, but

Language: Английский

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