1
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Pyenson BC, Rehan SM. Gene regulation supporting sociality shared across lineages and variation in complexity. Genome 2024; 67:99-108. [PMID: 38096504 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2023-0054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Across evolutionary lineages, insects vary in social complexity, from those that exhibit extended parental care to those with elaborate divisions of labor. Here, we synthesize the sociogenomic resources from hundreds of species to describe common gene regulatory mechanisms in insects that regulate social organization across phylogeny and levels of social complexity. Different social phenotypes expressed by insects can be linked to the organization of co-expressing gene networks and features of the epigenetic landscape. Insect sociality also stems from processes like the emergence of parental care and the decoupling of ancestral genetic programs. One underexplored avenue is how variation in a group's social environment affects the gene expression of individuals. Additionally, an experimental reduction of gene expression would demonstrate how the activity of specific genes contributes to insect social phenotypes. While tissue specificity provides greater localization of the gene expression underlying social complexity, emerging transcriptomic analysis of insect brains at the cellular level provides even greater resolution to understand the molecular basis of social insect evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra M Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
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2
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Hong Z. The value of sociogenomics in understanding genetic evolution in contemporary human populations. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e217. [PMID: 37695001 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22002424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Burt's target article oddly misses the important intellectual contribution of sociogenomics to our understanding of genetic evolution in contemporary human populations. Although social scientists' immediate research agendas are often not evolutionary in nature, I call for a better appreciation of the role of sociogenomics in answering important evolutionary questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ze Hong
- Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA ; https://kevinhong.home.blog/
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3
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Understanding of superorganisms: collective behavior, differentiation and social organization. ARTIFICIAL LIFE AND ROBOTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10015-022-00754-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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4
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“The elephant in the room”: social responsibility in the production of sociogenomics research. BIOSOCIETIES 2021; 17:713-731. [DOI: 10.1057/s41292-021-00239-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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5
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Moreno García CA, Maxwell TMR, Hickford J, Gregorini P. On the Search for Grazing Personalities: From Individual to Collective Behaviors. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:74. [PMID: 32158770 PMCID: PMC7051984 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While grazing lands can offer a diverse range of forages, individuals within herds prefer to graze some habitats and not others. They can have consistent differences in grazing patterns and occupy specific spatial domains, whilst developing tactics and strategies for foraging that are specific to their grazing personalities. In this review, we explore the development of our understanding of grazing personalities, as we move away from the search for an "optimal animal" toward designing behavior-customized herds with an arrangement of individual grazing personalities that enhance ecosystem services and productivity. We present a "grazing personality model" that accounts for the personality of individual animals and for collective behaviors of herds. We argue that grazing personalities of grazing ruminants and other large herbivores are in part genetically determined, and that they can act at the individual and collective level. The social and biophysical environments as well as the emotional state of animals regulate the expression of "grazing genes" that are observed phenotypically as distinct grazing personalities. The reproductive and sexual successes of individuals and herds filter for allele variants of grazing genes and in turn determines their relative frequency. While the selection of one grazing personality may be adequate for homogeneous pastoral systems, the design of herds with a range of grazing personalities that are matched to the habitat diversity may be a better approach to improving the distribution of grazing animals, enhancing ecosystem services, and maximizing productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian A Moreno García
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Thomas M R Maxwell
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Jonathan Hickford
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Pablo Gregorini
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
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6
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Conditional expression explains molecular evolution of social genes in a microbe. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3284. [PMID: 31337766 PMCID: PMC6650454 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11237-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflict is thought to play a critical role in the evolution of social interactions by promoting diversity or driving accelerated evolution. However, despite our sophisticated understanding of how conflict shapes social traits, we have limited knowledge of how it impacts molecular evolution across the underlying social genes. Here we address this problem by analyzing the genome-wide impact of social interactions using genome sequences from 67 Dictyostelium discoideum strains. We find that social genes tend to exhibit enhanced polymorphism and accelerated evolution. However, these patterns are not consistent with conflict driven processes, but instead reflect relaxed purifying selection. This pattern is most likely explained by the conditional nature of social interactions, whereby selection on genes expressed only in social interactions is diluted by generations of inactivity. This dilution of selection by inactivity enhances the role of drift, leading to increased polymorphism and accelerated evolution, which we call the Red King process.
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7
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8
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Rehan SM, Glastad KM, Steffen MA, Fay CR, Hunt BG, Toth AL. Conserved Genes Underlie Phenotypic Plasticity in an Incipiently Social Bee. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:2749-2758. [PMID: 30247544 PMCID: PMC6190964 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a strong history of theoretical work on the mechanisms of social evolution, relatively little is known of the molecular genetic changes that accompany transitions from solitary to eusocial forms. Here, we provide the first genome of an incipiently social bee that shows both solitary and social colony organization in sympatry, the Australian carpenter bee Ceratina australensis. Through comparative analysis, we provide support for the role of conserved genes and cis-regulation of gene expression in the phenotypic plasticity observed in nest-sharing, a rudimentary form of sociality. Additionally, we find that these conserved genes are associated with caste differences in advanced eusocial species, suggesting these types of mechanisms could pave the molecular pathway from solitary to eusocial living. Genes associated with social nesting in this species show signatures of being deeply conserved, in contrast to previous studies in other bees showing novel and faster-evolving genes are associated with derived sociality. Our data provide support for the idea that the earliest social transitions are driven by changes in gene regulation of deeply conserved genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra M Rehan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire
| | - Karl M Glastad
- Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania
| | | | - Cameron R Fay
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University
| | | | - Amy L Toth
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University
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9
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Legendre F, Grandcolas P. The evolution of sociality in termites from cockroaches: A taxonomic and phylogenetic perspective. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2018; 330:279-287. [PMID: 29989317 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Despite multiple studies and advances, sociality still puzzles evolutionary biologists in numerous ways, which might be partly addressed with the advent of sociogenomics. In insects, the majority of sociogenomic studies deal with Hymenoptera, one of the two groups that evolved eusociality with termites. But, to fully grasp the evolution of sociality, studies must obviously not restrict to eusocial lineages. Multiple kinds of social system transitions have been recorded and they all bring complementary insights. For instance, cockroaches, the closest relatives to termites, display a wide range of social interactions and evolved convergently subsocial behaviors (i.e., brood care). In this context, we emphasize the need for natural history, taxonomic, and phylogenetic studies. Natural history studies provide the foundations on which building hypotheses, whereas taxonomy provides the taxa to sample to test these hypotheses, and phylogenetics brings the historical framework necessary to test evolutionary scenarios of sociality evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Legendre
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Grandcolas
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Paris, France
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10
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He XJ, Zhou LB, Pan QZ, Barron AB, Yan WY, Zeng ZJ. Making a queen: an epigenetic analysis of the robustness of the honeybee (Apis mellifera
) queen developmental pathway. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:1598-1607. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Revised: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xu Jiang He
- Honeybee Research Institute; Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang Jiangxi 330045 China
| | - Lin Bin Zhou
- Honeybee Research Institute; Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang Jiangxi 330045 China
| | - Qi Zhong Pan
- Honeybee Research Institute; Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang Jiangxi 330045 China
| | - Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Wei Yu Yan
- Honeybee Research Institute; Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang Jiangxi 330045 China
| | - Zhi Jiang Zeng
- Honeybee Research Institute; Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang Jiangxi 330045 China
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11
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Fischer EK, Ghalambor CK, Hoke KL. Can a Network Approach Resolve How Adaptive vs Nonadaptive Plasticity Impacts Evolutionary Trajectories? Integr Comp Biol 2016; 56:877-888. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icw087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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12
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Trible W, Ross KG. Chemical communication of queen supergene status in an ant. J Evol Biol 2015; 29:502-13. [PMID: 26644320 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Revised: 11/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Traits of interest to evolutionary biologists often have complex genetic architectures, the nature of which can confound traditional experimental study at single levels of analysis. In the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, the presence of a Mendelian 'supergene' is both necessary and sufficient to induce a shift in a fundamental property of social organization, from single-queen (monogyne) to multiple-queen (polygyne) colonies. This selfish genetic element, termed the Social b (Sb) supergene, contains > 600 genes that collectively promote its fitness by inducing the characteristic polygyne syndrome, in part by causing polygyne workers to accept only queens bearing the Sb element (a behaviour termed 'worker Sb discrimination'). Here, we employ a newly developed behavioural assay to reveal that polygyne workers, many of which bear the Sb element, employ chemical cues on the cuticle of queens to achieve worker Sb discrimination, but we found no evidence for such pheromonally mediated worker Sb discrimination in monogyne workers, which universally lack the Sb element. This polygyne worker Sb discrimination was then verified through a 'green beard' effect previously described in this system. We thus have demonstrated that the Sb element is required both for production of relevant chemical cues of queens and for expression of the behaviours of workers that collectively result in worker Sb discrimination. This information fills a critical gap in the map between genotype and complex phenotype in S. invicta by restricting the search for candidate genes and molecules involved in producing this complex social trait to factors associated with the Sb element itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Trible
- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - K G Ross
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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13
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14
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Jandt JM, Thomson JL, Geffre AC, Toth AL. Lab rearing environment perturbs social traits: a case study withPolisteswasps. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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15
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Watanabe D, Gotoh H, Miura T, Maekawa K. Social interactions affecting caste development through physiological actions in termites. Front Physiol 2014; 5:127. [PMID: 24782780 PMCID: PMC3988372 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 03/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A colony of social insects is not only an aggregation of individuals but also a functional unit. To achieve adaptive social behavior in fluctuating environmental conditions, in addition to coordination of physiological status in each individual, the whole colony is coordinated by interactions among colony members. The study on the regulation of social-insect colonies is termed "social physiology." Termites, a major group of social insects, exhibit many interesting phenomena related to social physiology, such as mechanisms of caste regulation in a colony. In their colonies, there are different types of individuals, i.e., castes, which show distinctive phenotypes specialized in specific colony tasks. Termite castes comprise reproductives, soldiers and workers, and the caste composition can be altered depending on circumstances. For the regulation of caste compositions, interactions among individuals, i.e., social interactions, are thought to be important. In this article, we review previous studies on the adaptive meanings and those on the proximate mechanisms of the caste regulation in termites, and try to understand those comprehensively in terms of social physiology. Firstly, we summarize classical studies on the social interactions. Secondly, previous studies on the pheromone substances that mediate the caste regulatory mechanisms are overviewed. Then, we discuss the roles of a physiological factor, juvenile hormone (JH) in the regulation of caste differentiation. Finally, we introduce the achievements of molecular studies on the animal sociality (i.e., sociogenomics) in terms of social physiology. By comparing the proximate mechanisms of social physiology in termites with those in hymenopterans, we try to get insights into the general principles of social physiology in social animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dai Watanabe
- Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido UniversitySapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of ToyamaToyama, Japan
| | - Hiroki Gotoh
- Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido UniversitySapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Department of Entomology, Washington State UniversityPullman, WA, USA
| | - Toru Miura
- Laboratory of Ecological Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido UniversitySapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Kiyoto Maekawa
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of ToyamaToyama, Japan
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16
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Rosvall KA, Bergeon Burns CM, Barske J, Goodson JL, Schlinger BA, Sengelaub DR, Ketterson ED. Neural sensitivity to sex steroids predicts individual differences in aggression: implications for behavioural evolution. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3547-55. [PMID: 22673360 PMCID: PMC3396890 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2012] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Testosterone (T) regulates many traits related to fitness, including aggression. However, individual variation in aggressiveness does not always relate to circulating T, suggesting that behavioural variation may be more closely related to neural sensitivity to steroids, though this issue remains unresolved. To assess the relative importance of circulating T and neural steroid sensitivity in predicting behaviour, we measured aggressiveness during staged intrusions in free-living male and female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). We compared aggressiveness to plasma T levels and to the abundance of androgen receptor (AR), aromatase (AROM) and oestrogen receptor alpha (ORα) mRNA in behaviourally relevant brain areas (avian medial amygdala, hypothalamus and song control regions). We also asked whether patterns of covariation among behaviour and endocrine parameters differed in males and females, anticipating that circulating T may be a better predictor of behaviour in males than in females. We found that circulating T related to aggressiveness only in males, but that gene expression for ORα, AR and AROM covaried with individual differences in aggressiveness in both sexes. These findings are among the first to show that individual variation in neural gene expression for three major sex steroid-processing molecules predicts individual variation in aggressiveness in both sexes in nature. The results have broad implications for our understanding of the mechanisms by which aggressive behaviour may evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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17
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Triant DA, Hayes LD. Molecular approaches in behavioural research: a cautionary note regarding mitochondrial transfers to the nucleus (numts). Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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18
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Brown WM. The Parental Antagonism Theory of Language Evolution: Preliminary Evidence for the Proposal. Hum Biol 2011; 83:213-45. [DOI: 10.3378/027.083.0205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Abstract
It is often assumed that molecular systems are designed to maximize the competitive ability of the organism that carries them. In reality, natural selection acts on both cooperative and competitive phenotypes, across multiple scales of biological organization. Here I ask how the potential for social effects in evolution has influenced molecular systems. I discuss a range of phenotypes, from the selfish genetic elements that disrupt genomes, through metabolism, multicellularity and cancer, to behaviour and the organization of animal societies. I argue that the balance between cooperative and competitive evolution has shaped both form and function at the molecular scale.
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20
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Hammock EAD. Biologically constrained behavioral genetics research. Politics Life Sci 2011; 30:93-97. [PMID: 22702427 DOI: 10.2990/30_2_93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
From a biologist's perspective, social behavior includes any behavior that involves at least two actors. By this definition, social behavior can include aggregation in slime molds, the colony structure of the eusocial insects, or the coordinated efforts of humans across vast distances to successfully land on the moon. The diversity of this range of behavior shares one driving force: natural selection. While natural selection acts at the level of phenotype (e.g., morphology, metabolism, behavior) the ultimate unit of natural selection is the gene contained in DNA-the object of inheritance. The relationship between DNA and social behavior is uncovered in the field of sociogenomics, defined as the mechanistic study of genes, gene products, and gene × gene interaction networks supporting emergent social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A D Hammock
- Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1115 Light Hall, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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21
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Evans JD, Weaver DB. Beenome soon: honey bees as a model 'non-model' system for comparative genomics. Comp Funct Genomics 2010; 4:351-2. [PMID: 18629288 PMCID: PMC2448453 DOI: 10.1002/cfg.288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2003] [Revised: 02/20/2003] [Accepted: 02/20/2003] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jay D Evans
- USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory, BARC-East Building 476, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
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22
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Garcia L, Saraiva Garcia CH, Calábria LK, Costa Nunes da Cruz G, Sánchez Puentes A, Báo SN, Fontes W, Ricart CAO, Salmen Espindola F, Valle de Sousa M. Proteomic Analysis of Honey Bee Brain upon Ontogenetic and Behavioral Development. J Proteome Res 2009; 8:1464-73. [DOI: 10.1021/pr800823r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Liudy Garcia
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Carlos H. Saraiva Garcia
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Luciana Karen Calábria
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Costa Nunes da Cruz
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Aniel Sánchez Puentes
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Sonia N. Báo
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Wagner Fontes
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Carlos A. O. Ricart
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Foued Salmen Espindola
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Valle de Sousa
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Physics Department, CEADEN, Havana, Cuba, Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil, Genetic and Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, Department for Proteome Analysis, CIGB, Havana, Cuba, and Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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Wurm Y, Uva P, Ricci F, Wang J, Jemielity S, Iseli C, Falquet L, Keller L. Fourmidable: a database for ant genomics. BMC Genomics 2009; 10:5. [PMID: 19126223 PMCID: PMC2639375 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-10-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2008] [Accepted: 01/06/2009] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fourmidable is an infrastructure to curate and share the emerging genetic, molecular, and functional genomic data and protocols for ants. DESCRIPTION The Fourmidable assembly pipeline groups nucleotide sequences into clusters before independently assembling each cluster. Subsequently, assembled sequences are annotated via Interproscan and BLAST against general and insect-specific databases. Gene-specific information can be retrieved using gene identifiers, searching for similar sequences or browsing through inferred Gene Ontology annotations. The database will readily scale as ultra-high throughput sequence data and sequences from additional species become available. CONCLUSION Fourmidable currently houses EST data from two ant species and microarray gene expression data for one of these. Fourmidable is publicly available at http://fourmidable.unil.ch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Wurm
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Uva
- Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare, Merck Research Laboratories, 00040 Pomezia, Rome, Italy
| | - Frédéric Ricci
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - John Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie Jemielity
- Institut for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christian Iseli
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Falquet
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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24
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Boake CRB, Arnold SJ, Breden F, Meffert LM, Ritchie MG, Taylor BJ, Wolf JB, Moore AJ. Genetic tools for studying adaptation and the evolution of behavior. Am Nat 2008; 160 Suppl 6:S143-59. [PMID: 18707473 DOI: 10.1086/342902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The rapid expansion of genomic and molecular genetic techniques in model organisms, and the application of these techniques to organisms that are less well studied genetically, make it possible to understand the genetic control of many behavioral phenotypes. However, many behavioral ecologists are uncertain about the value of including a genetic component in their studies. In this article, we review how genetic analyses of behavior are central to topics ranging from understanding past selection and predicting future evolution to explaining the neural and hormonal control of behavior. Furthermore, we review both new and old techniques for studying evolutionary behavior genetics and highlight how the choice of approach depends on both the question and the organism. Topics discussed include genetic architecture, detecting the past history of selection, and genotype-by-environment interactions. We show how these questions are being addressed with techniques including statistical genetics, QTL analyses, transgenic analyses, and microarrays. Many of the techniques were first applied to the behavior of genetic model organisms such as laboratory mice and flies. Two recent developments serve to expand the relevance of such studies to behavioral ecology. The first is to use model organisms for studies of the genetic basis of evolutionarily relevant behavior and the second is to apply methods developed in model genetic systems to species that have not previously been examined genetically. These conceptual advances, along with the rapid diversification of genetic tools and the recognition of widespread genetic homology, suggest a bright outlook for evolutionary genetic studies. This review provides access to tools through references to the recent literature and shows the great promise for evolutionary behavioral genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R B Boake
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1610, USA
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25
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Gotzek D, Ross KG. Genetic regulation of colony social organization in fire ants: an integrative overview. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2007; 82:201-26. [PMID: 17937246 DOI: 10.1086/519965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Expression of colony social organization in fire ants appears to be under the control of a single Mendelian factor of large effect. Variation in colony queen number in Solenopsis invicta and its relatives is associated with allelic variation at the gene Gp-9, but not with variation at other unlinked genes; workers regulate queen identity and number on the basis of Gp-9 genotypic compatibility. Nongenetic factors, such as prior social experience, queen reproductive status, and local environment, have negligible effects on queen numbers which illustrates the nearly complete penetrance of Gp-9. As predicted, queen number can be manipulated experimentally by altering worker Gp-9 genotype frequencies. The Gp-9 allele lineage associated with polygyny in South American fire ants has been retained across multiple speciation events, which may signal the action of balancing selection to maintain social polymorphism in these species. Moreover, positive selection is implicated in driving the molecular evolution of Gp-9 in association with the origin of polygyny. The identity of the product of Gp-9 as an odorant-binding protein suggests plausible scenarios for its direct involvement in the regulation of queen number via a role in chemical communication. While these and other lines of evidence show that Gp-9 represents a legitimate candidate gene of major effect, studies aimed at determining (i) the biochemical pathways in which GP-9 functions; (ii) the phenotypic effects of molecular variation at Gp-9 and other pathway genes; and (iii) the potential involvement of genes in linkage disequilibrium with Gp-9 are needed to elucidate the genetic architecture underlying social organization in fire ants. Information that reveals the links between molecular variation, individual phenotype, and colony-level behaviors, combined with behavioral models that incorporate details of the chemical communication involved in regulating queen number, will yield a novel integrated view of the evolutionary changes underlying a key social adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dietrich Gotzek
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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26
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Wang J, Jemielity S, Uva P, Wurm Y, Gräff J, Keller L. An annotated cDNA library and microarray for large-scale gene-expression studies in the ant Solenopsis invicta. Genome Biol 2007; 8:R9. [PMID: 17224046 PMCID: PMC1839134 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2007-8-1-r9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2006] [Revised: 11/17/2006] [Accepted: 01/15/2007] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
An annotated EST resource for the fire ant Solenopsis invicta containing 21,715 ESTs, which represent 11,864 putatively different transcripts, and a corresponding cDNA microarray are described. Ants display a range of fascinating behaviors, a remarkable level of intra-species phenotypic plasticity and many other interesting characteristics. Here we present a new tool to study the molecular mechanisms underlying these traits: a tentatively annotated expressed sequence tag (EST) resource for the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. From a normalized cDNA library we obtained 21,715 ESTs, which represent 11,864 putatively different transcripts with very diverse molecular functions. All ESTs were used to construct a cDNA microarray.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie Jemielity
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Uva
- Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare, Merck Research Laboratories, 00040 Pomezia, Rome, Italy
| | - Yannick Wurm
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Johannes Gräff
- Brain Research Institute, University of Zürich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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27
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Robinson GE, Evans JD, Maleszka R, Robertson HM, Weaver DB, Worley K, Gibbs RA, Weinstock GM. Sweetness and light: illuminating the honey bee genome. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2006; 15:535-9. [PMID: 17069628 PMCID: PMC1761134 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2583.2006.00698.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- G E Robinson
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, BARC-E, Beltsville, MD, USA
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28
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Tan EJ, Tang BL. Looking for Food: Molecular Neuroethology of Invertebrate Feeding Behavior. Ethology 2006. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01230.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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29
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Fink S, Excoffier L, Heckel G. Mammalian monogamy is not controlled by a single gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006; 103:10956-60. [PMID: 16832060 PMCID: PMC1544156 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0602380103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2006] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex social behavior in Microtus voles and other mammals has been postulated to be under the direct genetic control of a single locus: the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor (avpr1a) gene. Using a phylogenetic approach, we show that a repetitive element in the promoter region of avpr1a, which reportedly causes social monogamy, is actually widespread in nonmonogamous Microtus and other rodents. There was no evidence for intraspecific polymorphism in regard to the presence or absence of the repetitive element. Among 25 rodent species studied, the element was absent in only two closely related nonmonogamous species, indicating that this absence is certainly the result of an evolutionarily recent loss. Our analyses further demonstrate that the repetitive structures upstream of the avpr1a gene in humans and primates, which have been associated with social bonding, are evolutionarily distinct from those in rodents. Our evolutionary approach reveals that monogamy in rodents is not controlled by a single polymorphism in the promoter region of the avpr1a gene. We thus resolve the contradiction between the claims for an evolutionarily conserved genetic programming of social behavior in mammals and the vast evidence for highly complex and flexible mating systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Fink
- Computational and Molecular Population Genetics Laboratory, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Excoffier
- Computational and Molecular Population Genetics Laboratory, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gerald Heckel
- Computational and Molecular Population Genetics Laboratory, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
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30
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Linksvayer TA, Wade MJ. The evolutionary origin and elaboration of sociality in the aculeate Hymenoptera: maternal effects, sib-social effects, and heterochrony. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2005; 80:317-36. [PMID: 16250466 DOI: 10.1086/432266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
We discuss the evolutionary origin and elaboration of sociality using an indirect genetic effects perspective. Indirect genetic effects models simultaneously consider zygotic genes, genes expressed in social partners (especially mothers and siblings), and the interactions between them. Incorporation of these diverse genetic effects should lead to more realistic models of social evolution. We first review haplodiploidy as a factor that promotes the evolution of eusociality. Social insect biologists have doubted the importance of relatedness asymmetry caused by haplodiploidy and focused on other predisposing factors such as maternal care. However; indirect effects theory shows that maternal care evolves more readily in haplodiploids, especially with inbreeding and despite multiple mating. Because extended maternal care is believed to be a precondition for the evolution of eusociality, the evolutionary bias towards maternal care in haplodiploids may result in a further bias towards eusociality in these groups. Next, we compare kin selection and parental manipulation and then briefly review additional hypotheses for the evolutionary origin of eusociality. We present a verbal model for the evolutionary origin and elaboration of sib-social care from maternal care based on the modification of the timing of expression of maternal care behaviors. Specifically, heterochrony genes cause maternal care behaviors to be expressed prereproductively towards siblings instead of postreproductively towards offspring. Our review demonstrates that both maternal effect genes (expressed in a parental manipulation manner) and direct effect zygotic genes (expressed in an offspring control manner) are likely involved in the evolution of eusociality. We conclude by describing theoretical and empirical advances with indirect genetic effects and sociogenomics, and we provide specific quantitative genetic and genomic predictions from our heterochrony model for the evolutionary origin and elaboration of eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A Linksvayer
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 East 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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31
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Ben-Shahar Y. The foraging gene, behavioral plasticity, and honeybee division of labor. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2005; 191:987-94. [PMID: 16133503 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-005-0025-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2005] [Revised: 06/10/2005] [Accepted: 06/12/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, the honeybee has emerged as an excellent model for molecular and genetic studies of complex social behaviors. By using the global gene expression methods as well as the candidate gene approach, it is now possible to link the function of genes to social behaviors. In this paper, I discuss the findings about one such gene, foraging, a cGMP-dependent protein kinase. The involvement of this gene in regulating division of labor is discussed on two independent, but not mutually exclusive levels; the possible mechanisms for PKG action in regulating behavioral transitions associated with honeybee division of labor, and its possible involvement in the evolution of division of labor in bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Ben-Shahar
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 500 EMRB, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA.
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32
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Robinson GE, Grozinger CM, Whitfield CW. Sociogenomics: social life in molecular terms. Nat Rev Genet 2005; 6:257-70. [PMID: 15761469 DOI: 10.1038/nrg1575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 283] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Spectacular progress in molecular biology, genome-sequencing projects and genomics makes this an appropriate time to attempt a comprehensive understanding of the molecular basis of social life. Promising results have already been obtained in identifying genes that influence animal social behaviour and genes that are implicated in social evolution. These findings - derived from an eclectic mix of species that show varying levels of sociality - provide the foundation for the integration of molecular biology, genomics, neuroscience, behavioural biology and evolutionary biology that is necessary for this endeavour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gene E Robinson
- Neuroscience Program, Department of Entomology, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, 320 Morrill Hall, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
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33
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Koshikawa S, Cornette R, Hojo M, Maekawa K, Matsumoto T, Miura T. Screening of genes expressed in developing mandibles during soldier differentiation in the termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti. FEBS Lett 2005; 579:1365-70. [PMID: 15733842 DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2004] [Revised: 01/12/2005] [Accepted: 01/13/2005] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the morphological changes accompanying soldier differentiation in the damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti. Genes expressed in the developing mandibles, which undergo the most remarkable morphological changes during soldier differentiation, were screened using fluorescent differential display. Database searches for sequence similarities were conducted and the relative expression levels were then quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Among the identified candidate genes, 12 genes were upregulated during soldier differentiation. These included genes for cuticle proteins, nucleic acid binding proteins, ribosomal proteins and actin-binding protein, which were inferred to be involved in caste-specific morphogenesis in termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeyuki Koshikawa
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
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34
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MIURA T. Proximate mechanisms and evolution of caste polyphenism in social insects: From sociality to genes. Ecol Res 2004. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1703.2003.00618.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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35
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Ross KG, Krieger MJB, Shoemaker DD. Alternative Genetic Foundations for a Key Social Polymorphism in Fire Ants. Genetics 2003; 165:1853-67. [PMID: 14704171 PMCID: PMC1462884 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/165.4.1853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Little is known about the genetic foundations of colony social organization. One rare example in which a single major gene is implicated in the expression of alternative social organizations involves the presumed odorant-binding protein gene Gp-9 in fire ants. Specific amino acid substitutions in this gene invariably are associated with the expression of monogyny (single queen per colony) or polygyny (multiple queens per colony) in fire ant species of the Solenopsis richteri clade. These substitutions are hypothesized to alter the abilities of workers to recognize queens and thereby regulate their numbers in a colony. We examined whether these same substitutions underlie the monogyny/polygyny social polymorphism in the distantly related fire ant S. geminata. We found that Gp-9 coding region sequences are identical in the polygyne and monogyne forms of this species, disproving our hypothesis that one or a few specific amino acid replacements in the protein are necessary to induce transitions in social organization in fire ants. On the other hand, polygyne S. geminata differs genetically from the monogyne form in ways not mirrored in the two forms of S. invicta, a well-studied member of the S. richteri clade, supporting the conclusion that polygyny did not evolve via analogous routes in the two lineages. Specifically, polygyne S. geminata has lower genetic diversity and different gene frequencies than the monogyne form, suggesting that the polygyne form originated via a founder event from a local monogyne population. These comparative data suggest an alternative route to polygyny in S. geminata in which loss of allelic variation at genes encoding recognition cues has led to a breakdown in discrimination abilities and the consequent acceptance of multiple queens in colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth G Ross
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
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36
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E Fahrbach
- Department of Entomology and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
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37
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Robinson GE, Ben-Shahar Y. Social behavior and comparative genomics: new genes or new gene regulation? GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2002; 1:197-203. [PMID: 12882364 DOI: 10.1034/j.1601-183x.2002.10401.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Molecular analyses of social behavior are distinguished by the use of an unusually broad array of animal models. This is advantageous for a number of reasons, including the opportunity for comparative genomic analyses that address fundamental issues in the molecular biology of social behavior. One issue relates to the kinds of changes in genome structure and function that occur to give rise to social behavior. This paper considers one aspect of this issue, whether social evolution involves new genes, new gene regulation, or both. This is accomplished by briefly reviewing findings from studies of the fish Haplochromis burtoni, the vole Microtus ochrogaster, and the honey bee Apis mellifera, with a more detailed and prospective consideration of the honey bee.
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Affiliation(s)
- G E Robinson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801, USA.
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38
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Abstract
The Anopheles gambiae genome sequence, coupled with the Drosophila melanogaster genome sequence, provides a better understanding of the insects, a group that contains our friends, foes, and competitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Kaufman
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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39
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Jackson RB, Linder C, Lynch M, Purugganan M, Somerville S, Thayer SS. Linking molecular insight and ecological research. Trends Ecol Evol 2002. [DOI: 10.1016/s0169-5347(02)02571-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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40
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Affiliation(s)
- Gene E Robinson
- Department of Entomology and the Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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41
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Whitfield CW, Band MR, Bonaldo MF, Kumar CG, Liu L, Pardinas JR, Robertson HM, Soares MB, Robinson GE. Annotated expressed sequence tags and cDNA microarrays for studies of brain and behavior in the honey bee. Genome Res 2002; 12:555-66. [PMID: 11932240 PMCID: PMC187514 DOI: 10.1101/gr.5302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
To accelerate the molecular analysis of behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera), we created expressed sequence tag (EST) and cDNA microarray resources for the bee brain. Over 20,000 cDNA clones were partially sequenced from a normalized (and subsequently subtracted) library generated from adult A. mellifera brains. These sequences were processed to identify 15,311 high-quality ESTs representing 8912 putative transcripts. Putative transcripts were functionally annotated (using the Gene Ontology classification system) based on matching gene sequences in Drosophila melanogaster. The brain ESTs represent a broad range of molecular functions and biological processes, with neurobiological classifications particularly well represented. Roughly half of Drosophila genes currently implicated in synaptic transmission and/or behavior are represented in the Apis EST set. Of Apis sequences with open reading frames of at least 450 bp, 24% are highly diverged with no matches to known protein sequences. Additionally, over 100 Apis transcript sequences conserved with other organisms appear to have been lost from the Drosophila genome. DNA microarrays were fabricated with over 7000 EST cDNA clones putatively representing different transcripts. Using probe derived from single bee brain mRNA, microarrays detected gene expression for 90% of Apis cDNAs two standard deviations greater than exogenous control cDNAs. [The sequence data described in this paper have been submitted to Genbank data library under accession nos. BI502708-BI517278. The sequences are also available at http://titan.biotec.uiuc.edu/bee/honeybee_project.htm.]
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles W Whitfield
- Department of Entomology and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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42
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Abstract
Colony queen number, a major feature of social organization in fire ants, is associated with worker genotypes at the gene Gp-9. We sequenced Gp-9 and found that it encodes a pheromone-binding protein, a crucial molecular component in chemical recognition of conspecifics. This suggests that differences in worker Gp-9 genotypes between social forms may cause differences in workers' abilities to recognize queens and regulate their numbers. Analyses of sequence evolution indicate that regulation of social organization by Gp-9 is conserved in South American fire ant species exhibiting social polymorphism and suggest that positive selection has driven the divergence between the alleles associated with alternate social organizations. This study demonstrates that single genes of major effect can underlie the expression of complex behaviors important in social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J B Krieger
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2603, USA.
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43
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Ants and Bs. Nat Rev Neurosci 2002. [DOI: 10.1038/nrn708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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44
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Abstract
Polyphenic differences between individuals arise not through differences at the genome level but as a result of specific cues received during development. Polyphenisms often involve entire suites of characters, as shown dramatically by the polyphenic castes found in many social insect colonies. An understanding of the genetic architecture behind polyphenisms provides a novel means of studying the interplay between genomes, gene expression and phenotypes. Here we discuss polyphenisms and molecular genetic tools now available to unravel their developmental bases in insects. We focus on several recent studies that have tracked gene-expression patterns during social insect caste determination. BioEssays 23:62-68, 2001. Published 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Evans
- Bee Research Lab, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA.
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45
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Kavaliers M, Colwell DD, Choleris E. Parasites and behaviour: an ethopharmacological perspective. PARASITOLOGY TODAY (PERSONAL ED.) 2000; 16:464-8. [PMID: 11063856 DOI: 10.1016/s0169-4758(00)01786-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Ethopharmacology combines an ethological approach to the understanding of the causes and functions of behaviour with pharmacological analysis of the underlying neuromodulatory mechanisms. Recently, this approach has been applied to the analysis of the responses of animals to parasitized individuals and to the effects of parasites on various host behaviours (eg. host defences, mate responses) and their neurobiological correlates. Martin Kavaliers, Douglas Colwell and Elena Choleris explain here how ethopharmacology can be used to address the mechanisms that underlie the often subtle effects of parasites on host behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kavaliers
- Department of Psychology, Social Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
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