Zih-Jian Huang

A Hymenoptera-restricted gene mediating ant castes co-opts deeply conserved machinery to control organ size

Lineage-specific genes are widespread and have been implicated as phenotypic innovation inducers 1, but how they acquire complex developmental functions remains poorly understood. Ant queens and workers develop dramatically different organ sizes from identical genomes under juvenile hormone (JH) control 2, yet the mole...