Dataset from "Conversion of social organization in fire ants induced by few colony members: unmasking indirect genetic effects"

Publication Title: Conversion of Social Organization in Fire Ants Induced by Few Colony Members: Unmasking Indirect Genetic Effects Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Abstract: Genes and the environment jointly shape individual traits, but the influence of indirect genetic effects (IGEs), arising from the genetic composition of interacting conspecific individuals, is often ignored or underemphasized. Moreover, because of practical challenges in characterizing IGEs, empirical research has fallen behind its theoretical advancement. The fire ant Solenopsis invicta offers a uniquely suitable study system due to its distinct colony-level phenotypic variation (monogyne and polygyne social forms) attributed to IGEs of a social-supergene variant (b allele). A minority of b-carrying workers (Bb genotype) can trigger colony-level conversion from monogyne (single queen per colony) to polygyne (multiple queens per colony) behavior. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying this process via novel 400-ant microcolonies. We first showed that assimilated Bb workers reduce aggression by host BB workers toward Bb queens, thus inducing polygyny, at rates observed earlier in experiments that used full-size (>20,000 ants) colonies. We then demonstrated that social conversion is facilitated by cuticular contact between the worker types, and verified the presence of non-volatile cuticular pheromones that are necessary but not sufficient components underpinning this process. Follow-up experiments suggested that a second, polygyne worker-produced pheromone that is only released once such workers detect a Bb queen is also necessary but again insufficient, for full expression of the conversion phenomenon. Thus, multiple pheromonal components linked to presence of the b supergene allele in colony workers appear to be involved in shaping social environments and thereby inducing, via IGEs, the transformation from monogyne to polygyne fire ant societies. This dataset includes: worker_conversion_README.pdf - a README file containing legends to the dataset in this project. worker_conversion_main_exp_result.csv - results from the main experimental set worker_conversion_behav_data.csv - raw data from manual tracking of worker-queen interaction in the Positive Reference experiments. worker_conversion_deposit.R - R script for processing and visualizing behavioral data from video-based analyses of fire ant worker-queen interactions (worker_conversion_behav_data.csv). The code summarizes time-series data on worker presence and behavior, compares outcomes of queen acceptance versus rejection, and generates statistical tests and figures. videos (mp4 files) - selected experimental recordings