Sun Nov 02 11:12:05 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the article and a rewrite as a news article:

Summary:

A study published in Nature reveals a peculiar phenomenon in the ant species Messor ibericus. Researchers found that M. ibericus queens produce sons belonging to both their own species and M. structor. This occurs because the queens mate with drones of both species. While eggs fertilized by M. ibericus sperm become queens and unfertilized eggs become M. ibericus drones, the eggs fertilized with M. structor sperm develop into hybrid workers. Intriguingly, M. ibericus queens eliminate their own chromosomes from certain eggs before or after fertilization, resulting in offspring with only M. structor chromosomes, which develop into cloned M. structor drones. This benefits the colony by ensuring hybrid workers, which are sterile. The study also explains the unique geographical distribution of M. structor, which is only found as males in regions inhabited by M. ibericus. The researchers propose that these “domesticated” M. structor drones are analogous to organelles at a superorganism level, reflecting a unique case of species domestication within an ant colony.

News Article:

Ant Colony Produces Offspring of Another Species, Rewriting the Rules of Nature

Published: November 2, 2025, 4:42 PM IST

Montpellier, France – A groundbreaking study published in Nature has revealed an unprecedented biological phenomenon: an ant species, Messor ibericus, produces offspring belonging to a different species, Messor structor. This discovery, made by researchers at the University of Montpellier, challenges fundamental understanding of reproduction and species boundaries.

The research shows that M. ibericus queens mate with drones from both their own species and M. structor. Eggs fertilized by M. ibericus sperm become queens and eggs fertilized by M. structor sperm become hybrid workers. However, the truly remarkable finding is that the queen somehow eliminates her own chromosomes from certain eggs, leaving them with only the M. structor chromosomes. These eggs develop into male M. structor drones, essentially creating clones of the other species within the M. ibericus colony.

Scientists believe this unusual strategy provides the M. ibericus colony with a significant advantage, as it ensures the creation of hybrid workers that are sterile. Researchers propose the M. ibericus genome evolved caste-biasing genes that caused the females bearing them to be destined to become queens and by generating M. structor drones, the colony could in the next generation produce inter-species hybrids that bypassed the caste-biasing and became workers. That the workers were inter-species hybrids ensured that they were sterile.

The findings also solve a long-standing mystery: the reason M. structor is only found as males in regions of Spain, Portugal, and Greece where M. ibericus is present. The males from wild M. structor differ in appearance and genetic isolation, one may regard that species as being domesticated by another at the organelle level.

“It’s an extraordinary example of species domestication,” said D.P. Kasbekar, the retired scientist who wrote the article. “These cloned M. structor drones are essentially acting as organelles within the M. ibericus superorganism, providing a crucial function for the colony.”

This discovery opens up new avenues of research into the complexities of social insect behavior, evolution, and the boundaries between species.

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