Data from: Testing the reproductive groundplan hypothesis in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The evolution of complex societies with obligate reproductive division of labour represents one of the major transitions in evolution. In such societies, functionally sterile individuals perform all fitness-relevant behaviours including maternal ones, without getting any direct fitness benefits. The question of how such novel behavioural phenotypes have evolved remains controversial. The reproductive groundplan hypothesis (RGPH) offers a powerful proximate explanation for this evolutionary leap. The RGPH argues that the conserved genetic and endocrinological networks regulating fitness relevant behaviour (e g. foraging and brood care) in their solitary ancestors have become decoupled from actual reproduction in the worker caste and now generate worker behavioural phenotypes. However, the empirical support for this hypothesis remains limited to a handful of species making its general validity uncertain. In this study we combine data from the literature with targeted sampling of key species and apply phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis to investigate if the key prediction of the RGPH, namely an association between maternal behaviour and a maternal physiological state holds in the largest and most species-rich clade of social insects, the ants. Our findings clearly support the RPGH as a general framework to understand the evolution of the worker caste and shed light on one of the major transition in evolutionary history.具备专性生殖劳动分工的复杂社会的演化，是进化历程中的重大转变之一。在此类社会中，功能不育的个体承担所有与适合度相关的行为（包括母性行为），却无法获得任何直接的适合度收益。这类全新行为表型的演化机制至今仍存在争议。生殖蓝图假说（Reproductive Groundplan Hypothesis, RGPH）为这一演化跃迁提供了强有力的近因解释。该假说提出，在独居祖先体内调控与适合度相关行为（例如觅食与育幼）的保守遗传与内分泌网络，在工蚁品级中已与实际生殖过程解耦，并由此产生了工蚁的行为表型。然而，该假说的实证支持仅局限于少数物种，导致其普遍适用性仍未明确。本研究整合文献数据与关键类群的针对性采样数据，并运用系统发育控制比较分析，旨在检验RGPH的核心预测——母性行为与母性生理状态的关联——是否适用于物种最丰富、规模最大的社会性昆虫演化支：蚂蚁。本研究结果明确支持RGPH作为理解工蚁品级演化的通用框架，并为解析进化历程中的重大转变之一提供了新的视角。