Van Eeckhoven, J orcid.org/0000-0001-8407-4290 and Duncan, EJ orcid.org/0000-0002-1841-504X (2020) Mating status and the evolution of eusociality: Oogenesis is independent of mating status in the solitary bee Osmia bicornis. Journal of Insect Physiology, 121. 104003. ISSN 0022-1910
Abstract
The fundamental trait underlying eusociality is the reproductive division of labour. In honeybees (Apis mellifera), queens lay eggs while workers forage, defend and care for brood. The division of labour is maintained by pheromones including queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) produced by the queen. QMP constrains reproduction in adult honeybee workers, but in the absence of their queen workers can activate their ovaries and, although they cannot mate, they lay haploid male eggs. The reproductive ground plan hypothesis suggests that reproductive constraint may have evolved by co-opting mechanisms of reproductive control in solitary ancestors. In many insects mating is required to activate or accelerate oogenesis. Here, we use the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (Megachilidae) to test whether reproductive constraint evolved from ancestral control of reproduction by mating status. We present a structural study of the O. bicornis ovary, and compare key stages of oogenesis with honeybee workers. Importantly, we show that mating does not affect any aspect of the reproductive physiology of O. bicornis. We therefore conclude that mechanisms governing reproductive constraint in honeybees were unlikely to have been co-opted from mechanisms pertaining to mating status.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Journal of Insect Physiology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Apis mellifera; Osmia bicornis; Reproduction; Reproductive constraint; Mating; Ovary; Ovariole; Germarium; Terminal filament |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 752656 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Jan 2020 16:23 |
Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2021 11:27 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.104003 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:155575 |
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