Gonadal development of adultoid reproductive in subterranean termites indicates strong reproductive potential

Abstract

The fair allocation of reproductive resources between population growth and outward dispersal plays a crucial role in determining competitive advantage and ecological success of organisms within their environment. Termite colonies demonstrate flexibility in allocating their reproductive resources through wing polymorphism: with alates possessing fully developed wings for dispersal to propagate the colony’s genetic material, while adultoids have floppy wings, serving a secondary reproductive to ensure stability and development within the natal colony. However, the extent of reproductive potential exhibited by alates (post-shed-wings called dealate) and adultoids within the colony remains uncertain. In this study, through experimentation, we compared the reproductive capacity of dealate and adultoid. We found that the adultoids can develop to maturity and lay eggs faster after emergence. The reproductive potential including the number of ovariole, the number of oocytes in growth and vitellogenesis stage, and the expression levels of vitellogenin genes were all higher than dealates. More importantly, paired adultoids has a longer oviposition cycle and is able to obtain more eggs and larvae. These results suggest that adultoids possess a greater reproductive potential allowing them to produce a large number of offspring within a short period of time. Our results help to an explanation of the biological significance that the differentiation of adultoids reproductive persist in lower termite colonies.