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So the messor male line is without sexual reproduction. Essentially a clone army, all with identical genes? I find it interesting that this has not led to all
by Torkel 1y ago
So the messor male line is without sexual reproduction. Essentially a clone army, all with identical genes?
I find it interesting that this has not led to all the clones knocked out by diseases, as happens to eg our banana plantations.
- Amezarak 1y agoAll M. structor's aren't clones, only in that colony. They are out their in the wild reproducing with other M. structors sexually.
- noselasd 1y agoI thought one of the big points was there's no M. structor females on the islands.
- Amezarak 1y agoThey've extended their range, so there's lots of cases where they don't have wild ones around, but there's still overlap, at least according to the article I read.
- noselasd 1y agoYes, in some areas - but not e.g. on Sicily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-O4_AwWpfI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-O4_AwWpfI gives perhaps a better overview M. Ibericus produces 4 kinds of offsprings. 1. M. Ibericus queen + no male (unfertilized egg) -> M. Ibericus male. 2. M. Ibericus queen + M. Ibericus male -> M. Ibericus queen 3. M. Ibericus queen + M. Structor male -> M. Structor male, no genes from the mother 4. M. Ibericus queen + M. Structor male -> M. Structor/Ibericus hybrid female, (worker ant, infertile)
- sjducb 1y agoThe authors tried to find evidence of gene flow between the domesticated messor drones and the wild messor populations, but couldn’t. They sequenced about 100 ants, so it was not an exhaustive search. However if it was common you would have expected to see it.