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Science 3 December 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5702, p. 1645
DOI: 10.1126/science.306.5702.1645h
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Nearly all animal species use sexual reproduction despite that fact that each individual transmits only half of its genome to any progeny. Pearcy et al. (p. 1780; see the Perspective by Gadagkar) report an unusual system of reproduction in the ant Catagylphis cursor, whereby it circumvents this cost. The queens use alternative modes of reproduction for the production of nonreproductive and reproductive offspring: Only the workers are produced by sexual reproduction, while new queens are almost exclusively produced by parthenogenesis. C. cursor has been able to capitalize on the ant caste system to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits associated with sexual reproduction, because queens increase the transmission rate of their genes to their reproductive female offspring while maintaining genetic diversity in the worker force.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)