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Updated: Dec 15, 2025
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Maternal effect killing by a supergene controlling ant social organization
Amaury Avril1, Jessica Purcell1, Sébastien Béniguel1
1Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Summary
A supergene in Alpine silver ants acts as a selfish genetic element, causing offspring without it to die. This mechanism drives the spread of multiple-queen colonies, impacting social organization evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary genetics
- Social insect behavior
- Population genetics
Background:
- Supergenes are clusters of linked genes that can underlie striking polymorphisms.
- The evolutionary persistence of supergenes is often debated, with proposed mechanisms including coadaptation or selfish genetic elements.
- Understanding supergenes is key to explaining complex natural polymorphisms and social structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary mechanism behind a specific supergene haplotype associated with multiple-queen colonies in Alpine silver ants.
- To determine if this supergene acts as a selfish genetic element.
- To elucidate the impact of this supergene on colony social organization and population dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Maternal effect analysis in heterozygous queens.
- Developmental viability assays of offspring.
- Population-level modeling of haplotype transmission.
Main Results:
- The supergene haplotype associated with multiple-queen colonies functions as a maternal effect killer.
- Heterozygous queens produce offspring that fail to hatch if they do not inherit the specific haplotype.
- This transmission ratio distortion strongly favors the proliferation of the multiple-queen haplotype.
Conclusions:
- The Alpine silver ant supergene is a selfish genetic element that distorts Mendelian inheritance to enhance its own transmission.
- This selfish gene drive mechanism promotes the evolution and persistence of multiple-queen colony structures.
- Large, nonrecombining genomic regions like supergenes can exert significant, multifarious effects on biological organization.
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