WORKER fire ants eat queens that don鈥檛 smell right. 杏吧原创s in Switzerland
and the US say the cause is a rare 鈥済reen beard鈥� gene, which allows animals to
recognise others with the same version of the gene.
Laurent Keller of the University of Lausanne and Kenneth Ross of the
University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, introduced queen ants to colonies of
workers. As they report in this week鈥檚 Nature (vol 394, p 573), the
workers attacked queens who carried a different version of the suspected green
beard gene. The fire ants also attacked fellow workers who picked up the odour
when the queens rubbed against them.
The researchers say green beard genes help to explain altruism among animals.
Helping others only makes evolutionary sense if the helper gains by its action.
Green beard genes ensure that altruistic animals only help others with very
similar genetic backgrounds.
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