Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2002) 95, 646-649

Kenji Matsuura (2002)
A test of the haplodiploid analogy hypothesis in the termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95 (5), 646-649
Abstract: In some species of lower termites, translocation complexes generate sex-dependent asymmetric relatedness within colonies. It has been suggested that increased relatedness, between both male and female siblings, for loci on translocation chromosomes might have favored the evolution of eusociality among termites in the same way that haplodiploidy has in hymenopterans. This sex-linkage hypothesis predicts that workers should invest more in sibling nymphs of the same sex. Although I observed sex-linked interchange heterozygosity in Reticulitermes speratus Kolbe, I found no differences in the survival rates or weight gain of nymphs reared by sibling workers of the same sex and those reared by sibling workers of the opposite sex. This empirical study did not support the haplodiploid analogy for lower termites.
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Database assignments for author(s): Kenji Matsuura

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Reticulitermes speratus