Male Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) have been discovered to be true chimeras, defying the basic laws of biological inheritance. Chimera, a mythical creature from Greek mythology, refers to a fabulous hybrid. Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have discovered that male Yellow Crazy Ants are true chimeras, composed of different elements of other creatures or beings. The study focused on the unique reproductive process of the ant species, which has long puzzled scientists, particularly in male specimens.
Previous genetic analyses of Yellow Crazy Ants have shown that males of this species possess two copies of each chromosome, which was unexpected since males in ants, bees, and wasps usually arise from unfertilized eggs and should therefore only have one maternal copy of each chromosome. The researchers discovered that male ants have maternal and paternal genomes in different cells of their bodies, making them chimeras. All males have two genomes, but each cell of their body contains only one of the two genomes. This is unique since in a multicellular organism, each cell usually contains identical genetic material.
The authors conclude that male Yellow Crazy Ants must be chimeras that arise from fertilized eggs in which the two parental gametes do not fuse. Instead, the maternal and paternal nuclei divide separately within the same egg, resulting in adult males having both parental DNA sequences but in different body cells. The mechanisms that determine whether fusion of parental gametes occurs or not are still unknown. This process violates one of the basic laws of biological inheritance, as all cells of an individual should contain the same genome.
