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Evo-Devo Lessons from the Reproductive Division of Labor in Eusocial Hymenoptera

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Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Abstract

The reproductive division of labor between highly fecund queens and nonreproductive workers is the hallmark of eusociality. This division of labor is analogous to the germ-soma divide in multicellular organisms, and in this way, the colonies of eusocial species can be conceptualized as “superorganisms.” The developmental mechanisms underlying the nonreproductive phenotype of workers are beginning to be identified in eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps). The reproductive dimorphism between queens and workers can be understood in terms of “reproductive constraints”: developmental mechanisms that reduce or eliminate the ability of workers to reproduce. These constraints can be grouped into five types that act at different stages of development and differentially affect reproductive potential, activity, and success. The degree of queen-worker dimorphism varies considerably among eusocial insect species, allowing us to explore the developmental mechanisms that underlie the evolutionary origin and elaboration of division of labor in superorganisms. Finally, we highlight several open questions about the evolution of reproductive constraints and their relation to the evolution of complexity at the superorganism level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Claire Ramsay, Paul Lasko & Ehab Abouheif

Authors
  1. Claire Ramsay
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  2. Paul Lasko
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  3. Ehab Abouheif
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ehab Abouheif .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The KLI Institute, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Laura Nuno de la Rosa

  2. The KLI Institute, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Gerd Müller

Section Editor information

  1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Ehab Abouheif

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Ramsay, C., Lasko, P., Abouheif, E. (2020). Evo-Devo Lessons from the Reproductive Division of Labor in Eusocial Hymenoptera. In: Nuno de la Rosa, L., Müller, G. (eds) Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33038-9_173-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33038-9_173-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33038-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33038-9

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