Ovarian development of female-female pairs in the termite, Reticulitermes speratus
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-8555, Japan
Abstract
In the rhinotermitid termite Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), facultative parthenogenesis is known to occur occasionally and females cooperate with other females to found the colony. To elucidate the ovarian development in these two females, incipient female-female colonies were established under laboratory conditions, and the process of colony development was observed at 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, and 7.5 months (stages I–V, respectively) after colony foundation. Ovarian development, vitellogenin gene expression, and juvenile hormone (JH) titers were examined. A precise reproductive cycle in both females was observed, in which the oviposition rate was relatively higher during stages I and II, decreased during stages III and IV, and then increased again at stage V. JH III titer and vitellogenin gene expression changed in parallel throughout the reproductive cycle of these queens. Ovarian maturation and vitellogenesis were similar in both females in a female-female colony at all stages examined, suggesting that no conflicts existed for two females in terms of oviposition.
Keywords: queen, parthenogenesis, juvenile hormone, vitellogenin, ovary, gene expression
Correspondence: *kmaekawa@sci.u-toyama.ac.jp
Received: 7 October 2009 | Accepted: 21 December 2009 | Published: 8 November 2010
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 194
Ishitani K, Maekawa K. 2010. Ovarian development of female-female pairs in the termite, Reticulitermes speratus. Journal of Insect Science 10:194, available online: insectscience.org/10.194
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