Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Empirical, Metagenomic, and Computational Techniques Illuminate the Mechanisms by which Fungicides Compromise Bee Health
Published on: October 9, 2017
DNA fingerprinting analysis of parent-offspring conflict in a bee
U G Mueller1, G C Eickwort, C F Aquadro
1Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Abstract:
Demonstrating the importance of haplodiploidy in the evolution of eusociality among the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) requires estimation of four parameters: relatedness between cooperating individuals, effective mating frequency, sex ratio, and rates of worker reproduction. Multilocus DNA fingerprinting techniques permitted the precise determination of these parameters for the primitively eusocial bee Augochlorella striata (Halictidae). DNA fingerprints revealed an unprecedented resolution of genetic relationships within colonies, detecting factors such as intraspecific nest parasitism and diploid males that confounded estimates of relatedness and sex ratio, respectively. Parameter estimates (i) corroborate recent evidence for queen-worker conflict over the sex ratio and (ii) implicate the role of haplodiploidy in the evolution of worker behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Monohybrid Crosses
Dihybrid Crosses
Pedigree Analysis
Law of Segregation
Law of Independent Assortment
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

