@article{fdi:010050497,
  title = {{R}are sexual reproduction events in the clonal reproduction system of introduced populations of the little fire ant},
  author = {{F}oucaud, {J}. and {J}ourdan, {H}erv{\'e} and {L}e {B}reton, {J}. and {L}oiseau, {A}. and {K}onghouleux, {D}jo{\¨e}l and {E}stoup, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A} unique reproductive system has previously been described in {W}asmannia auropunctata, a widespread invasive ant species, where males are produced clonally, female queens are parthenogens, and female workers are produced sexually. {H}owever, these findings were mostly based on samples originating from only a limited part of the native range of the species in {S}outh {A}merica. {W}e used microsatellite markers to uncover the reproductive modes displayed by a large number of nests collected in various invasive {W}. auropunctata populations introduced 40 years ago into {N}ew {C}aledonia, where the species now forms a single 450-km-long supercolony. {A}lthough the main reproduction system in {N}ew {C}aledonia remained clonality for both male and female reproductives, we found evidence of rare sexual reproduction events that led to the production of both new queen and male clonal lineages. {A}ll clonal lineages observed in {N}ew {C}aledonia potentially derived from sexual reproduction, recombination, and mutation events from a single female and a single male genotype. {H}ence, the male and female gene pools are not strictly separated in {N}ew {C}aledonia and the two sexes do not follow independent evolutionary trajectories. {O}ur results also suggest genetic determination for both parthenogenesis and caste. {W}e discuss the evolutionary implications of the emergence of sex in the clonal reproduction system of introduced populations of {W}. auropunctata.},
  keywords = {caste determination ; invasion ; parthenogenesis ; reproduction system ; {W}asmannia auropunctata},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{E}volution},
  volume = {60},
  numero = {8},
  pages = {1646--1657},
  ISSN = {0014-3820},
  year = {2006},
  DOI = {10.1554/06-099.1},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010050497},
}