ArticleCommunications biology2021
Male fire ant neurotransmitter precursors trigger reproductive development in females after mating.
Article in Communications biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- The dealation pattern of independent and alate virgin females of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).Journal of insect science (Online) · 2025Article
- A lateral flow immunoassay-based survey reveals a low-frequency truncated Solenopsis invicta venom 2-like protein and unique Solenopsis invicta venom 2 protein genotypes inFrontiers in insect science · 2025Article
- Branched tyramides from males of the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2023Article
- Review
- The Evolution of Tyramides in Male Fungus-Growing Ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini: Attina).Journal of chemical ecology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Social insect queens have evolved mechanisms to prevent competition from their sexual daughters. For Solenopsis invicta, the fire ant, queens have evolved a primer pheromone that retards reproductive development in their winged reproductive daughters. If these daughters are removed from the influence of the queen, it takes about a week to start reproductive development; however, it starts almost immediately after mating. This dichotomy has been unsuccessfully investigated for several decades. Here we show that male fire ants produce tyramides, derivatives of the biogenic amine tyramine, in their reproductive system. Males transfer tyramides to winged females during mating, where the now newly mated queens enzymatically convert tyramides to tyramine. Tyramine floods the hemolymph, rapidly activating physiological processes associated with reproductive development. Tyramides have been found only in the large Myrmicinae ant sub-family (6,800 species), We suggest that the complex inhibition/disinhibition of reproductive development described here will be applicable to other members of this ant sub-family.
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