Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Hybrid Queen
High Male
X
Backcross Workers
Figure 6.4.
Mating design for validation of
pln1
and
pln2.
Worker genotypes
were derived from a high-strain backcross. Just 1 set of chromosomes is shown,
representing the full set of 16.
producing sperm gametes. However, every egg of the queen was a
unique mixture of genes derived from her high and low parents. All
workers inherited the same high-strain alleles for QTLs from their fa-
ther but had a 50 percent chance of inheriting the high or low allele
from their mother. As a consequence, heritable variation in the forag-
ing behavior of individuals was derived from the mother.
We looked at the specii c regions of the genomes of more than 320
returning foragers and determined whether they inherited a high or low
QTL allele (as indicated by the RAPD marker allele) from their mother.
Our expectation was that foragers that collected more pollen and less
nectar would be more likely to inherit a high-strain QTL. We put the
inseminated hybrid queen in a colony, marked 3,000 newly emerged
workers (daughters of the queen), and collected them when they re-
turned from foraging trips several weeks later. We weighed the pollen
and nectar loads and determined the sugar concentration of nectar col-
lected. Pollen and nectar loads correlated with our marker alleles, indi-
