Sexually dimorphic body color is regulated by sex-specific expression of yellow gene in ponerine ant, Diacamma sp.

ABSTRACT: Most hymenopteran species exhibit conspicuous sexual dimorphism due to ecological differences between the sexes. As hymenopteran genomes, under the haplodiploid genetic system, exhibit quantitative differences between sexes while remaining qualitatively identical, sexual phenotypes are assumed to be expressed through sex-specific gene usage. In the present study, the molecular basis for expression of sexual dimorphism in a queenless ant, Diacamma sp., which exhibits a distinct color dimorphism, was examined. Worker females of the species appear bluish-black, while winged males exhibit a yellowish-brown body color. Initially, observations of the pigmentation processes during pupal development revealed that black pigmentation was present in female pupae but not in males, suggesting that sex-

SUBMITTER: Miyazaki S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3965500 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature