Premium
The origin of a ‘true’ worker caste in termites: phylogenetic evidence is not decisive
Author(s) -
Grandcolas P.,
D'Haese C.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00451.x
Subject(s) - caste , phylogenetic tree , biology , character (mathematics) , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , genealogy , zoology , genetics , mathematics , linguistics , history , philosophy , geometry , gene
The phylogenetic study of the origin of a ‘true’ worker caste in termites by Thompson et al . [ J. Evol. Biol. 13 (2000) 869] did not take into account all possibilities of character coding and character optimization on the phylogenetic tree. Actually, contrary to the authors' statements, the phylogenetic evidence presented does not permit to answer decisively most of the questions asked concerning the origin and evolution of worker castes in termites. Particular attention was paid to assumptions implied by the coding of the characters of interest, namely concerning the homology between pseudergates and a ‘true’ worker caste and the kind of the cockroach life type.