Trick to perpetuate the reign

2009/03/31 Lakar Iraizoz, Oihane - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Genetika
• Zoologia

In the species of speratus termita Reticulitermes, the queen termite resorts to asexual reproduction to perpetuate her reign. To this conclusion, a group of entomologists from Japan's Okayama University have analysed various termite colonies of this species. In fact, they saw that although in the colonies there were more than one queen and all lay eggs, all descendants had a single female gene contribution.

When the queen termites begin to age, they lay eggs for the formation of secondary queens that give rise to worker termites, soldiers and specimens of the other hierarchical levels of the colony. All these termites reproduce with King Termite, both the main and secondary queen.

Reticulitermes speratus termites follow a path to avoid the problems of consanguinity that would cause the union of secondary queens with their father: the queen produces by parthenogenesis secondary kings. So the newly created termites are genetically identical to those of their mother, their mother's clones. Somehow, the queen remains queen even when she dies.

Image courtesy of: C. Matsuura