Each colony has thousands of female workers, one queen, and a few hundred males (drones). This strong sex bias relies on an unusual sex determination system. Gempe et al. (e1000222) show key functions for the regulation of two genes: csd, which establishes the decision between males and females by allelic combination, and fem, which memorizes the sexual decision by a positive regulatory feedback loop that operates throughout development.
Image Credit: Björn Schmitt, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Editorial
Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease: A PLoS Collection
PLOS Biology: published October 26, 2009 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000224
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