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Cited by 105Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorNeurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchAnimal Behavior and Reproduction

Division of Labor in the Hyperdiverse Ant Genus Pheidole Is Associated with Distinct Subcaste- and Age-Related Patterns of Worker Brain Organization

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Muscedere, Mario L., Traniello, James F. A.·2012·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0031618PMC PMC3281964
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Abstract

The evolutionary success of ants and other social insects is considered to be intrinsically linked to division of labor among workers. The role of the brains of individual ants in generating division of labor, however, is poorly understood, as is the degree to which interspecific variation in worker social phenotypes is underscored by functional neurobiological differentiation. Here we demonstrate that dimorphic minor and major workers of different ages from three ecotypical species of the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole have distinct patterns of neuropil size variation. Brain subregions involved in sensory input (optic and antennal lobes), sensory integration, learning and memory (mushroom bodies), and motor functions (central body and subesophageal ganglion) vary significantly in relative size, reflecting differential investment in neuropils that likely regulate subcaste- and age-correlated task performance. Worker groups differ in brain size and display patterns of altered isometric and allometric subregion scaling that affect brain architecture independently of brain size variation. In particular, mushroom body size was positively correlated with task plasticity in the context of both age- and subcaste-related polyethism, providing strong, novel support that greater investment in this neuropil increases behavioral flexibility. Our findings reveal striking levels of developmental plasticity and evolutionary flexibility in Pheidole worker neuroanatomy, supporting the hypothesis that mosaic alterations of brain composition contribute to adaptive colony structure and interspecific variation in social organization.

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  • Group-level cognition may select for reduced brain size and/or adaptive brain size variation.

    “Computational models (e.g., Feinerman and Traniello, 2016;Reséndiz-Benhumea et al., 2021) and patterns in some ant clades (Muscedere and Traniello, 2012;Riveros et al., 2012;Muratore et al., 2021) suggest that group-level cognition may select for reduced brain size and/or adaptive brain size variation.”

    From When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants (2021) · cites this paper as Muscedere and Traniello, 2012

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Authors
Muscedere, M. L., & Traniello, J. F. A.
Affiliations
Boston University (US)
Corresponding author
Muscedere, Mario L.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2012-02-17
Volume
7
Issue
2
Pages
e31618
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0031618
PMC
PMC3281964
OpenAlex
W1986101840
Cited by
105
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 3
FWCI
5.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Science Foundation (0725013, 0724591)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Keywords
division of labor, Pheidole, subcastes, employee age, mushroom body, polyethism, developmental plasticity, allometric scaling, social insects, colony organization
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Ants, Behavior, Animal, Brain, Hierarchy, Social, Life Cycle Stages, Mosaicism, Organ Size, Phenotype, Species Specificity, Multivariate Analysis, Discriminant Analysis, Neuropil Threads, Body Size

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