Groundbreaking research at McGill is shedding light on the importance of environmental stress on evolution. Researchers led by Professor Ehab Abouheif, a Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, recently created “supersoldiers” of the ant genus Pheidole morissi in the lab. The “super” ants sport huge, oblong, heads and ultra-sharp mandibles. They measure about three times the size of a normal soldier ant. Abouheif’s study, published in Science, is thought to illustrate effects of what is known as dormant genetic potential—dormant qualities that are locked in place for millions of years, but may be invoked into existence by natural selection and allow species to realize hidden potential. 

As a child, Abouheif aspired to be a heart surgeon, but his interest in answering philosophical questions—like why we have five fingers or why leaves are green and shaped the way they are—led him to the field of evolutionary biology.  The Tribune sat down with Prof. Abouheif last week to discuss his research and its possible implications.  

Congratulations on being published in Science. How do you choose what to send to the big-name journals?

 I only send my best ones. To publish in the top journals, like Nature and Science, it’s very competitive. They only accept about five-seven per cent of the writings they receive. Then it’s like a lottery. You can be convinced that you’ve found something groundbreaking, but the editors and anonymous reviewers have to be excited about your work as well.

How do you manage to create these “supersoldier” ants in the lab?

On the last stage of metamorphosis, Pheidole larva release a certain amount of a hormone, called juvenile hormone. If the hormone level passes a certain threshold, the ant develops into a soldier. We thought that in the lab, if we introduce larvae with more hormones beyond the threshold just before the crucial switch, we might be able to produce supersoldiers. And we were right.  

Without hormone intervention in the lab, why do rare “supersoldiers” occur in the natural environment?

What we observe is that Pheidole colonies use supersoldiers to defend their nests when other colonies attack. We also observed another ant species that live in the same exact environment with the Pheidole but don’t produce supersoldiers. So why is that? It turns out that these other species use a different strategy to defend themselves. They use what is called “nest evacuation,” where  they evacuate nests that they occupy. This renders the need for supersoldiers obsolete. They have the potential to produce supersoldiers, but natural selection has given them an alternative strategy to survive. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that the potential is still there and is only brought to fruition under specific circumstances that can be created in the lab.

What do you think is the groundbreaking aspect of your published results?

We’ve heard about whales with hind limbs, snakes with arms, birds with teeth, and humans with an extra nipple. These are not weird features—they’re modern domesticated species that still display characteristics of their ancestors. Whales at one time lived on land (hence the limbs). Before, people thought that these anomalies popping out were just ‘slips’ in the evolutionary process, nothing more. What we are showing, for the first time, is that these anomalies are actually species’ hidden potentials that are locked in place for millions of years. They’re just sitting there all this while, dormant.  Given the right environmental triggers, they can be unleashed.

You are opening a lot of doors. What does the future hold for this research?

Now that we’ve said, look, there’s more to these anomalies—at least in Pheidole—the question is whether these implications extend beyond these ants. People can look for the same evidence in other species too, and that’s a different story.

Another reason why we can make this discovery in ants is because it was easily observable. The traits were distinctive—look at those humungous heads. Imagine if it was a missing limb, then it’s harder to detect. Another reason is the social aspect of ants. Like humans who take care of their less fortunate, ants will take care of each other no matter what. If these anomalies pop up in species that are individualistic, they will be wiped out completely due to competition. These anomalies won’t persist and we might have not been able to see them today.

Any advice for those who want to go in to the field of science? Some words of wisdom?

 The most important thing is, first of all, embrace chance because we are all presented with opportunities that are completely random and we must seize them with passion. You just follow your heart. Don’t do anything just for the sake of doing it, do it because you are passionate about it and when the opportunity arises, grab it and then follow your heart and your senses. It’s that passion that will keep you floating through the downturns that occur. 

Did you encounter failures over the course of the study?

All the time. What you see is the success, but this paper took eight years. The amount of failures varies—either due to some basic chemical that was missing, or having ants die on us because they weren’t fed properly. Once, we brought a colony of supersoldiers into the lab for observation. We were very excited, just very eager to see how they behave. Then another nasty species of ants in the incubators got out, formed a trail, went in to the colonies and massacred them all, before we could come and actually see anything. It was frustrating. We had to go back to Long Island, N.Y., find another batch, scan the Pheidole colony for supersoldiers, and ship them in all over again. What you see is the end product, the result of failing with sparkles of success.

This interview has been condensed and edited. 

—Compiled by

Farah Hanani Sam