Sex- and caste-specific developmental responses to juvenile hormone in an ant with maternal caste determination.

ABSTRACT: Juvenile hormone is considered to be a master regulator of polyphenism in social insects. In the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, whether a female egg develops into a queen or a worker is determined maternally and caste-specific differentiation occurs in embryos, so that queens and workers can be distinguished in a non-invasive manner from late embryogenesis onwards. This ant also exhibits two male morphs - winged and wingless males. Here, we used topical treatment with juvenile hormone III and its synthetic analogue methoprene, a method that influences caste determination and differentiation in some ant species, to investigate whether hormone manipulation affects the development and growth of male, queen- and worker-destined embryos and larvae. We found no effect of hormone treatment on femal

SUBMITTER: Brulhart J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11418025 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature