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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Worker ants vault to queenly rank after just one gene turns on

One master switch controls a wide range of behaviours in an ant that undergoes a radical makeover.
A Harpegnathos saltator worker ant captured in an aggressive display with open mandibles.

Gamergate-in-waiting: a Jerdon’s jumping ant worker can attain queenly status if it vanquishes other workers in fights. Credit: Karl Glastad/Berger Lab

A single gene can determine whether an ant is a worker or royalty, by triggering a cascade of brain changes that alter the insect’s behaviour1.

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Nature 599, 182 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03024-1

References

  1. Gospocic, J. et al. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.006 (2021).

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