David C. Queller
Encyclopedia
David C. Queller is a leading evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
. He received his BA from The University of Illinois in 1976, and his PhD from The University Michigan in 1982. Dr. Queller was a faculty member at Rice University
in Houston, Texas
from 1989-2011, and was a Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor in Natural Sciences. In July 2011 he was appointed as a Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis
. His work focuses on both theoretical and empirical aspects of the evolution of social interactions, including both sexual selection
and kin selection
. Recent theoretical studies have focused on generalizing inclusive fitness theory, the role of relatedness in viscous populations, and the importance of demographic advantages in the evolution of sociality in insects. He has also worked to develop methods for estimating genetic relatedness using genetic markers and this work led to an extensive collaboration with Joan E. Strassmann
on the importance of genetic relatedness in the evolution of social insects. They use DNA
microsatellite markers to study altruism and conflict in both social insects and cellular slime molds.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He received his BA from The University of Illinois in 1976, and his PhD from The University Michigan in 1982. Dr. Queller was a faculty member at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
from 1989-2011, and was a Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor in Natural Sciences. In July 2011 he was appointed as a Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
. His work focuses on both theoretical and empirical aspects of the evolution of social interactions, including both sexual selection
Sexual selection
Sexual selection, a concept introduced by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, is a significant element of his theory of natural selection...
and kin selection
Kin selection
Kin selection refers to apparent strategies in evolution that favor the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Charles Darwin was the first to discuss the concept of group/kin selection...
. Recent theoretical studies have focused on generalizing inclusive fitness theory, the role of relatedness in viscous populations, and the importance of demographic advantages in the evolution of sociality in insects. He has also worked to develop methods for estimating genetic relatedness using genetic markers and this work led to an extensive collaboration with Joan E. Strassmann
Joan E. Strassmann
Joan E. Strassmann is a evolutionary biologist who is interested in how cooperation prospers in the face of evolutionary conflicts.She received her BS from The University of Michigan in 1974, and her PhD from The University of Texas at Austin in 1979. Dr Strassmann has been on the faculty of Rice...
on the importance of genetic relatedness in the evolution of social insects. They use DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
microsatellite markers to study altruism and conflict in both social insects and cellular slime molds.
Honors
- American Society of Naturalists, Young Investigator Award, 1985
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, 2004 - President, North American Section of the International Society for the Study of Insects, 2005-2006
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, 2008
Selected publications
- Queller, DC. 2008. The social side of wild yeast. Nature 465: 589-590
- Ostrowski, EA, Katoh, M, Shaulsky, G, Queller, DC, and Strassmann, JE. 2008. Kin Discrimination Increases with Genetic Distance in a Social Amoeba. PLoS Biology 6 (11):e287
- Santorelli, LA, Thompson, CRL, Villegas, E, Svetz, J, Dinh, C, Parikh, A, Sucgang, R, Kuspa, A, Strassmann, JE, Queller, DC and Shaulsky, G. 2008. Facultative cheater mutants reveal the genetic complexity of cooperation in social amoebae. Nature 451:1107-1110.
- McConnell,R., Middlemist, S., Scala, C., Strassmann, J.E. and Queller, D.C. 2007. An unusually low microsatellite mutation rate in Dictyostelium discoideum, an organism with unusually abundant microsatellites. Genetics. 177:1499-1507
- Gilbert, OM, Foster, K., Mehdiabadi, NJ, Strassmann, JE, and Queller, DC. 2007. High relatedness maintains multicellular cooperation in a social amoeba by controlling cheater mutants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:8913-8917.
- Strassmann, JE, and Queller, DC. 2007. Insect societies as divided organisms: The complexities of purpose and cross-purpose. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:8619-8626.
- Kuzdzal-Fick, J.J., Foster, K. R.; Queller, D. C., and Strassmann, J. 2007. Exploiting new terrain: an advantage to sociality in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Behavioral Ecology. 18: 433-437.
- Mehdiabadi, NJ, Jack, CN, Farnham, TT, Platt, TG, Kalla, SE, Shaulsky, G, Queller, DC, and Strassmann, JE. 2006. Kin preference in a social microbe. Nature. 442: 881-882
- Queller, D.C. & Strassmann, J. E., 2002. The many selves of social insects. Science 296:311-313
- Queller, D. C., Zacchi, F., Cervo, R., Turillazzi, S., Henshaw, M., Santorelli, L., Strassmann, J. E. 2000. Unrelated helpers in a social insect. Nature 405:784-787.
- Queller, D. C. and Strassmann, J. E. 1998. Kin selection and social insects. BioScience, 48: 165-175.
- Hastings, M. D., Queller, D. C., Eischen, F. and Strassmann, J. E. 1998. Kin selection, relatedness and worker control of reproduction in a large-colony epiponine wasp, Brachygastra mellifica. Behavioral Ecology, 9:573-581.
- Peters, J. M., Queller D. C., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L., Roubik, D. W., Strassmann, J. E. 1999. Mate number, kin selection and social conflicts in stingless bees and honey bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series B 266:379-384.
- Queller, D.C. 1997. Why do females care more than males? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 264: 1555-1557.
- Queller, D. C., J. E. Strassmann, C. R. Hughes, C. R. Solís, D. Moralez DeLoach, 1993. A selfish strategy of social insect workers that promotes social cohesion. Nature 365:639-641.
- Queller, D.C., Peters, J.M., Solís, C.R. & Strassmann, J.E. 1997. Control of reproduction in social insect colonies: individual and collective relatedness preferences in the paper wasp, Polistes annularis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 40:3-16.
- Queller, D.C. 1994. Male-female conflict and parent-offspring conflict. American Naturalist 144:S84-S99. Aug
- Queller, D.C. 1994. Extended parental care and the origin of eusociality. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 256:105-111.
- Queller, D.C. 1996. The measurement and meaning of inclusive fitness. Animal Behaviour 51: 229-232.
- Goodnight, K.F. and Queller, D. C. 1999. Computer software for performing likelihood tests of pedigree relationship using genetic markers Molecular Ecology 8:1231-1234.
- Queller, D.C. 1996. The origin and maintenance of eusociality: the advantage of extended parental care, pp. 218–234 in: S. Turillazzi and M. J. West-Eberhard (eds), Natural History and Evolution of Paper Wasps, Oxford University Press.