Conversion of social organization in fire ants induced by few colony members: Unmasking indirect genetic effects.

ABSTRACT: Genes and the environment jointly shape individual traits, but the influence of indirect genetic effects (IGEs), arising from the genetic composition of interacting conspecific individuals, is often ignored or underemphasized. Moreover, because of practical challenges in characterizing IGEs, empirical research has fallen behind theoretical advancement. The fire ant Solenopsis invicta offers a uniquely suitable study system due to its distinct colony-level phenotypic variation (monogyne and polygyne social forms) attributed to IGEs of a social-supergene variant (b allele). A minority of b-carrying workers (Bb genotype) can trigger colony-level conversion from monogyne (single queen per colony) to polygyne (multiple queens per colony) behavior. This study investig

SUBMITTER: Zeng H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12088393 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature