This week’s paper of the week is from our friends in the Nasonia community on the genetics and evolution of the sex-pheromone signalling system in Nasonia. Not that we are biased, but it’s a lovely paper, emphasising that signaller-receiver systems do not always need to evolve as a result of pre-existing receiver biases (however important they may generally be).
Niehuis et al (2013) Behavioural and genetic analyses of Nasonia shed light on the evolution of sex pheromones. Nature 494: 345-348.
Welcome to Nicki Cook who joins the lab today as a post-doc working on the NERC sex ratio genetics project. Nicki joins us from the James Hutton Institute, Dundee.
The week’s paper of the week is from Wang et al on the genetic basis of social organisation (queen number & colony structure) in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. In brief, a large inversion system, segregating as a Mendelian unit, contains genes associated with differences between mongyne and polygyne colonies: long-live super-genes!
Wang et al (2013) A Y-like social chromosome causes alternative colony organization in fire ants. Nature 493: 664-668.