Ants Mutate into Parasites in Record Time.

A single mutation in a supergene was found to be sufficient to turn free-living ants into obligate social parasites, according to a study published in the journal Nature. The research focused on a pair of mismatched supergenes in clonal raider ants, which had experienced a mutation that replaced the supergene on one chromosome with a copy of the supergene from the other chromosome. The resulting mutant ant with two copies of the “parasitic” version of the supergene could have suddenly developed into a miniature queen that looked a lot like an inquiline.