1
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Walton A, Herman JJ, Rueppell O. Social life results in social stress protection: a novel concept to explain individual life-history patterns in social insects. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1444-1457. [PMID: 38468146 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Resistance to and avoidance of stress slow aging and confer increased longevity in numerous organisms. Honey bees and other superorganismal social insects have two main advantages over solitary species to avoid or resist stress: individuals can directly help each other by resource or information transfer, and they can cooperatively control their environment. These benefits have been recognised in the context of pathogen and parasite stress as the concept of social immunity, which has been extensively studied. However, we argue that social immunity is only a special case of a general concept that we define here as social stress protection to include group-level defences against all biotic and abiotic stressors. We reason that social stress protection may have allowed the evolution of reduced individual-level defences and individual life-history optimization, including the exceptional aging plasticity of many social insects. We describe major categories of stress and how a colonial lifestyle may protect social insects, particularly against temporary peaks of extreme stress. We use the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to illustrate how patterns of life expectancy may be explained by social stress protection and how modern beekeeping practices can disrupt social stress protection. We conclude that the broad concept of social stress protection requires rigorous empirical testing because it may have implications for our general understanding of social evolution and specifically for improving honey bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Walton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jacob J Herman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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2
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Oguchi K, Miura T. Body part-specific development in termite caste differentiation: crosstalk between hormonal actions and developmental toolkit genes. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 63:101183. [PMID: 38428818 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2024.101183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
In social insects, interactions among colony members trigger caste differentiation with morphological modifications. During caste differentiation in termites, body parts and caste-specific morphologies are modified during postembryonic development under endocrine controls such as juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysone. In addition to endocrine factors, developmental toolkit genes such as Hox- and appendage-patterning genes also contribute to the caste-specific body part modifications. These toolkits are thought to provide spatial information for specific morphogenesis. During social evolution, the complex crosstalks between physiological and developmental mechanisms should be established, leading to the sophisticated caste systems. This article reviews recent studies on these mechanisms underlying the termite caste differentiation and addresses implications for the evolution of caste systems in termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Oguchi
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225, Japan
| | - Toru Miura
- Misaki Marine Biological Station, The University of Tokyo, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225, Japan.
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3
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Hellemans S, Hanus R. Termite primary queen - ancestral, but highly specialized eusocial phenotype. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 61:101157. [PMID: 38142979 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Termite eusociality is accompanied by flagrant caste polyphenism manifested by the presence of several sterile (workers and soldiers) and reproductive (imaginal and neotenic kings and queens) caste phenotypes. Imaginal kings and queens are developmentally equivalent to adults of other hemimetabolous insects but display multiple adaptations inherent to their role of eusocial colony founders, such as long lifespan and high fecundity. Herein, we summarize the recent advances in understanding the biology of imaginal (primary) queens as emblematic examples of termite polyphenism acquired during social evolution. We focus on the control of queen development, on dynamics in physiology and fecundity during the queen's life, on new findings about queen fertility signaling, and on proximate mechanisms underlying queen longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Hellemans
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan; Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles, 50 avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Robert Hanus
- Chemistry of Social Insects, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
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4
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Albery GF, Sweeny AR, Webber Q. How behavioural ageing affects infectious disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 155:105426. [PMID: 37839673 PMCID: PMC10842249 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Ageing is associated with profound changes in behaviour that could influence exposure and susceptibility to infectious disease. As well as determining emergent patterns of infection across individuals of different ages, behavioural ageing could interact with, confound, or counteract age-related changes in other traits. Here, we examine how behavioural ageing can manifest and influence patterns of infection in wild animals. We discuss a range of age-related changes that involve interactions between behaviour and components of exposure and susceptibility to infection, including social ageing and immunosenescence, acquisition of novel parasites and pathogens with age, changes in spatial behaviours, and age-related hygiene and sickness behaviours. Overall, most behavioural changes are expected to result in a reduced exposure rate, but there is relatively little evidence for this phenomenon, emerging largely from a rarity of explicit tests of exposure changes over the lifespan. This review offers a framework for understanding how ageing, behaviour, immunity, and infection interact, providing a series of hypotheses and testable predictions to improve our understanding of health in ageing societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA; Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Amy R Sweeny
- School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, UK
| | - Quinn Webber
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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5
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Cook PA, Costello RA, Formica VA, Brodie ED. Individual and Population Age Impact Social Behavior and Network Structure in a Long-Lived Insect. Am Nat 2023; 202:667-680. [PMID: 37963123 DOI: 10.1086/726063] [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: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
AbstractSocial behaviors vary among individuals, and social networks vary among groups. Understanding the causes of such variation is important for predicting or altering ecological processes such as infectious disease outbreaks. Here, we ask whether age contributes to variation in social behavior at multiple levels of organization: within individuals over time, among individuals of different ages, among local social environments, and among populations. We used experimental manipulations of captive populations and a longitudinal dataset to test whether social behavior is associated with age across these levels in a long-lived insect, the forked fungus beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus). In cross-sectional analyses, we found that older beetles were less connected in their social networks. Longitudinal data confirmed that this effect was due in part to changes in behavior over time; beetles became less social over 2 years, possibly because of increased social selectivity or reproductive investment. Beetles of different ages also occupied different local social neighborhoods. The effects of age on behavior scaled up: populations of older individuals had fewer interactions, fewer but more variable relationships, longer network path lengths, and lower clustering than populations of young individuals. Age therefore impacted not only individual sociality but also the network structures that mediate critical population processes.
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6
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Hernández-Pacheco R, Steiner UK, Rosati AG, Tuljapurkar S. Advancing methods for the biodemography of aging within social contexts. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105400. [PMID: 37739326 PMCID: PMC10591901 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Several social dimensions including social integration, status, early-life adversity, and their interactions across the life course can predict health, reproduction, and mortality in humans. Accordingly, the social environment plays a fundamental role in the emergence of phenotypes driving the evolution of aging. Recent work placing human social gradients on a biological continuum with other species provides a useful evolutionary context for aging questions, but there is still a need for a unified evolutionary framework linking health and aging within social contexts. Here, we summarize current challenges to understand the role of the social environment in human life courses. Next, we review recent advances in comparative biodemography and propose a biodemographic perspective to address socially driven health phenotype distributions and their evolutionary consequences using a nonhuman primate population. This new comparative approach uses evolutionary demography to address the joint dynamics of populations, social dimensions, phenotypes, and life history parameters. The long-term goal is to advance our understanding of the link between individual social environments, population-level outcomes, and the evolution of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raisa Hernández-Pacheco
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840-0004, USA.
| | - Ulrich K Steiner
- Freie Universität Berlin, Biological Institute, Königin-Luise Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexandra G Rosati
- Departments of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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7
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Collins DH, Prince DC, Donelan JL, Chapman T, Bourke AFG. Costs of reproduction are present but latent in eusocial bumblebee queens. BMC Biol 2023; 21:153. [PMID: 37430246 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01648-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The standard evolutionary theory of ageing proposes that ageing occurs because of a trade-off between reproduction and longevity. Eusocial insect queens exhibit positive fecundity-longevity associations and so have been suggested to be counter-examples through not expressing costs of reproduction and through remodelling conserved genetic and endocrine networks regulating ageing and reproduction. If so, eusocial evolution from solitary ancestors with negative fecundity-longevity associations must have involved a stage at which costs of reproduction were suppressed and fecundity and longevity became positively associated. Using the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), we experimentally tested whether queens in annual eusocial insects at an intermediate level of eusocial complexity experience costs of reproduction, and, using mRNA-seq, the extent to which they exhibit a remodelling of relevant genetic and endocrine networks. Specifically, we tested whether costs of reproduction are present but latent, or whether a remodelling of relevant genetic and endocrine networks has already occurred allowing queens to reproduce without costs. RESULTS We experimentally increased queens' costs of reproduction by removing their eggs, which caused queens to increase their egg-laying rate. Treatment queens had significantly reduced longevity relative to control queens whose egg-laying rate was not increased. Reduced longevity in treatment queens was not caused by increased worker-to-queen aggression or by increased overall activity in queens. In addition, treatment and control queens differed in age-related gene expression based on mRNA-seq in both their overall expression profiles and the expression of ageing-related genes. Remarkably, these differences appeared to occur principally with respect to relative age, not chronological age. CONCLUSIONS This study represents the first simultaneously phenotypic and transcriptomic experimental test for a longevity cost of reproduction in eusocial insect queens. The results support the occurrence of costs of reproduction in annual eusocial insects of intermediate social complexity and suggest that reproductive costs are present but latent in queens of such species, i.e. that these queens exhibit condition-dependent positive fecundity-longevity associations. They also raise the possibility that a partial remodelling of genetic and endocrine networks underpinning ageing may have occurred in intermediately eusocial species such that, in unmanipulated conditions, age-related gene expression depends more on chronological than relative age.
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Affiliation(s)
- David H Collins
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - David C Prince
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Jenny L Donelan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Tracey Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Andrew F G Bourke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
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8
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Guo S, Hou L, Dong L, Nie X, Kang L, Wang X. PLIN2-induced ectopic lipid accumulation promotes muscle ageing in gregarious locusts. Nat Ecol Evol 2023:10.1038/s41559-023-02059-z. [PMID: 37156891 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02059-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Ageing plasticity represents the flexibility of the ageing process in response to non-genetic factors, occurring commonly in animals. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying ageing plasticity are largely unclear. The density-dependent polyphenism of locusts, Locusta migratoria, displays dramatic lifespan divergence between solitary and gregarious phases, providing a useful system for studying ageing plasticity. Here, we found that gregarious locusts displayed faster locomotor deficits and increased muscle degeneration on ageing than solitary locusts. Comparative transcriptome analysis in flight muscles revealed significant differences in transcriptional patterns on ageing between two phases. RNA interference screening showed that the knockdown of the upregulated PLIN2 gene significantly relieved the ageing-related flight impairments in gregarious locusts. Mechanistically, the gradual upregulation of PLIN2 could induce the accumulation of ectopic lipid droplets and triacylglycerols in flight muscles during the ageing process. Further experiments suggested that ectopic lipid accumulation led to an ageing-related β-oxidation decline through limiting fatty acid transport and content. These findings reveal the key roles of lipid metabolism in the differences of muscle ageing between solitary and gregarious locusts and provide a potential mechanism underlying environment-induced muscle ageing plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liushu Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Le Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China.
| | - Xianhui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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9
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Zhu P, Liu W, Zhang X, Li M, Liu G, Yu Y, Li Z, Li X, Du J, Wang X, Grueter CC, Li M, Zhou X. Correlated evolution of social organization and lifespan in mammals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:372. [PMID: 36720880 PMCID: PMC9889386 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35869-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Discerning the relationship between sociality and longevity would permit a deeper understanding of how animal life history evolved. Here, we perform a phylogenetic comparative analysis of ~1000 mammalian species on three states of social organization (solitary, pair-living, and group-living) and longevity. We show that group-living species generally live longer than solitary species, and that the transition rate from a short-lived state to a long-lived state is higher in group-living than non-group-living species, altogether supporting the correlated evolution of social organization and longevity. The comparative brain transcriptomes of 94 mammalian species identify 31 genes, hormones and immunity-related pathways broadly involved in the association between social organization and longevity. Further selection features reveal twenty overlapping pathways under selection for both social organization and longevity. These results underscore a molecular basis for the influence of the social organization on longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingfen Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Weiqiang Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Meng Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Gaoming Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yang Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Zihao Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xuanjing Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Juan Du
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Cyril C Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia.,Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia.,International Center of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan, 671003, China
| | - Ming Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China. .,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.
| | - Xuming Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, 100101, China.
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10
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Fan H, Guo W, Lu X. How do helpers slow senescence in a Tibetan cooperatively breeding bird? Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Haiying Fan
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences Wuhan University Wuhan China
| | - Weibin Guo
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences Wuhan University Wuhan China
| | - Xin Lu
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences Wuhan University Wuhan China
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11
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Kreider JJ, Kramer BH, Komdeur J, Pen I. The evolution of ageing in cooperative breeders. Evol Lett 2022; 6:450-459. [PMID: 36579168 PMCID: PMC9783459 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperatively breeding animals live longer than their solitary counterparts. This has been suggested for birds, mole rats, and social insects. A common explanation for these long lifespans is that cooperative breeding evolves more readily in long-lived species because lower mortality reduces the rate of territory turnover and thus leads to a limitation of breeding territories. Here, we reverse this argument and show that-rather than being a cause for its evolution-long lifespans are an evolutionary consequence of cooperative breeding. In evolutionary individual-based simulations, we show that natural selection favors a delayed onset of senescence in cooperative breeders, relative to solitary breeders, because cooperative breeders have a delayed age of first reproduction as helpers wait in a reproductive queue to obtain breeder status. Especially long lifespans evolve in cooperative breeders in which queue positions depend on the helpers' age rank among the helpers within the breeding territory. Furthermore, we show that lower genetic relatedness among group members leads to the evolution of longer lifespans. This is because selection against higher mortality is weaker when mortality reduces competition for breeding between relatives. Our results link the evolutionary theory of ageing with kin selection theory, demonstrating that the evolution of ageing in cooperative breeders is driven by the timing of reproduction and kin structure within breeding territories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan J. Kreider
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands,Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Boris H. Kramer
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
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12
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Ellis S, Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Alberts SC, Balcomb KC, Benton CH, Brent LJN, Crockford C, Davidian E, Delahay RJ, Ellifrit DK, Höner OP, Meniri M, McDonald RA, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Vigilant L, Wittig RM, Croft DP. Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1766-1776. [PMID: 36163259 PMCID: PMC10423498 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01872-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ultimate payoff of behaviours depends not only on their direct impact on an individual, but also on the impact on their relatives. Local relatedness-the average relatedness of an individual to their social environment-therefore has profound effects on social and life history evolution. Recent work has begun to show that local relatedness has the potential to change systematically over an individual's lifetime, a process called kinship dynamics. However, it is unclear how general these kinship dynamics are, whether they are predictable in real systems and their effects on behaviour and life history evolution. In this study, we combine modelling with data from real systems to explore the extent and impact of kinship dynamics. We use data from seven group-living mammals with diverse social and mating systems to demonstrate not only that kinship dynamics occur in animal systems, but also that the direction and magnitude of kinship dynamics can be accurately predicted using a simple model. We use a theoretical model to demonstrate that kinship dynamics can profoundly affect lifetime patterns of behaviour and can drive sex differences in helping and harming behaviour across the lifespan in social species. Taken together, this work demonstrates that kinship dynamics are likely to be a fundamental dimension of social evolution, especially when considering age-linked changes and sex differences in behaviour and life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | | | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Claire H Benton
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, Lyon, France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eve Davidian
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | | | - Oliver P Höner
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Magali Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Faye J Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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13
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Lago DC, Hasselmann M, Hartfelder K. Sex- and caste-specific transcriptomes of larval honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) gonads: DMRT A2 and Hsp83 are differentially expressed and regulated by juvenile hormone. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 31:593-608. [PMID: 35524973 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The gonads of honey bee, Apis mellifera, queens and drones are each composed of hundreds of serial units, the ovarioles and testioles, while the ovaries of the adult subfertile workers consist of only few ovarioles. We performed a comparative RNA-seq analysis on early fifth-instar (L5F1) larval gonads, which is a critical stage in gonad development of honey bee larvae. A total of 1834 genes were identified as differentially expressed (Padj < 0.01) among the three sex and caste phenotypes. The Gene Ontology analysis showed significant enrichment for metabolism, protein or ion binding, and oxidoreductase activity, and a KEGG analysis revealed metabolic pathways as enriched. In a principal component analysis for the total transcriptomes and hierarchical clustering of the DEGs, we found higher similarity between the queen and worker ovary transcriptomes compared to the drone testis, despite the onset of programmed cell death in the worker ovaries. Four DEGs were selected for RT-qPCR analyses, including their response to juvenile hormone (JH), which is a critical factor in the caste-specific development of the ovaries. Among these, DMRT A2 and Hsp83 were found upregulated by JH and, thus, emerged as potential molecular markers for sex- and caste-specific gonad development in honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denyse Cavalcante Lago
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Martin Hasselmann
- Department of Livestock Population Genomics, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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14
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Ridley AR, Nelson-Flower MJ, Wiley EM, Humphries DJ, Kokko H. Kidnapping intergroup young: an alternative strategy to maintain group size in the group-living pied babbler ( Turdoides bicolor). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210153. [PMID: 35369755 PMCID: PMC8977656 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Both inter- and intragroup interactions can be important influences on behaviour, yet to date most research focuses on intragroup interactions. Here, we describe a hitherto relatively unknown behaviour that results from intergroup interaction in the cooperative breeding pied babbler: kidnapping. Kidnapping can result in the permanent removal of young from their natal group. Since raising young requires energetic investment and abductees are usually unrelated to their kidnappers, there appears no apparent evolutionary advantage to kidnapping. However, kidnapping may be beneficial in species where group size is a critically limiting factor (e.g. for reproductive success or territory defence). We found kidnapping was a highly predictable event in pied babblers: primarily groups that fail to raise their own young kidnap the young of others, and we show this to be the theoretical expectation in a model that predicts kidnapping to be facultative, only occurring in those cases where an additional group member has sufficient positive impact on group survival to compensate for the increase in reproductive competition. In babblers, groups that failed to raise young were also more likely to accept extragroup adults (hereafter rovers). Groups that fail to breed may either (i) kidnap intergroup young or (ii) accept rovers as an alternative strategy to maintain or increase group size. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.,Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Martha J Nelson-Flower
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.,Department of Biology, Langara College, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Elizabeth M Wiley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - David J Humphries
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Lutermann H. Socializing in an Infectious World: The Role of Parasites in Social Evolution of a Unique Rodent Family. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.879031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmission of parasites between hosts is facilitated by close contact of hosts. Consequently, parasites have been proposed as an important constraint to the evolution of sociality accounting for its rarity. Despite the presumed costs associated with parasitism, the majority of species of African mole-rats (Family: Bathyergidae) are social. In fact, only the extremes of sociality (i.e., solitary and singular breeding) are represented in this subterranean rodent family. But how did bathyergids overcome the costs of parasitism? Parasite burden is a function of the exposure and susceptibility of a host to parasites. In this review I explore how living in sealed burrow systems and the group defenses that can be employed by closely related group members can effectively reduce the exposure and susceptibility of social bathyergids to parasites. Evidence suggests that this can be achieved largely by investment in relatively cheap and flexible behavioral rather than physiological defense mechanisms. This also shifts the selection pressure for parasites on successful transmission between group members rather than transmission between groups. In turn, this constrains the evolution of virulence and favors socially transmitted parasites (e.g., mites and lice) further reducing the costs of parasitism for social Bathyergidae. I conclude by highlighting directions for future research to evaluate the mechanisms proposed and to consider parasites as facilitators of social evolution not only in this rodent family but also other singular breeders.
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16
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Shell WA, Rehan SM. Social divergence: molecular pathways underlying castes and longevity in a facultatively eusocial small carpenter bee. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212663. [PMID: 35317677 PMCID: PMC8941392 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Unravelling the evolutionary origins of eusocial life is a longstanding endeavour in the field of evolutionary-developmental biology. Descended from solitary ancestors, eusocial insects such as honeybees have evolved ontogenetic division of labour in which short-lived workers perform age-associated tasks, while a long-lived queen produces brood. It is hypothesized that (i) eusocial caste systems evolved through the co-option of deeply conserved genes and (ii) longevity may be tied to oxidative damage mitigation capacity. To date, however, these hypotheses have been examined primarily among only obligately eusocial corbiculate bees. We present brain transcriptomic data from a Japanese small carpenter bee, Ceratina japonica (Apidae: Xylocopinae), which demonstrates both solitary and eusocial nesting in sympatry and lives 2 or more years in the wild. Our dataset captures gene expression patterns underlying first- and second-year solitary females, queens and workers, providing an unprecedented opportunity to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying caste-antecedent phenotypes in a long-lived and facultatively eusocial bee. We find that C. japonica's queens and workers are underpinned by divergent gene regulatory pathways, involving many differentially expressed genes well-conserved among other primitively eusocial bee lineages. We also find support for oxidative damage reduction as a proximate mechanism of longevity in C. japonica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyatt A. Shell
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
| | - Sandra M. Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
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17
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Kramer BH, Doorn GSV, Arani BMS, Pen I. Eusociality and the evolution of aging in superorganisms. Am Nat 2022; 200:63-80. [DOI: 10.1086/719666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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18
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Siracusa ER, Higham JP, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJN. Social ageing: exploring the drivers of late-life changes in social behaviour in mammals. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20210643. [PMID: 35232274 PMCID: PMC8889194 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions help group-living organisms cope with socio-environmental challenges and are central to survival and reproductive success. Recent research has shown that social behaviour and relationships can change across the lifespan, a phenomenon referred to as 'social ageing'. Given the importance of social integration for health and well-being, age-dependent changes in social behaviour can modulate how fitness changes with age and may be an important source of unexplained variation in individual patterns of senescence. However, integrating social behaviour into ageing research requires a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of age-based changes in social behaviour. Here, we provide an overview of the drivers of late-life changes in sociality. We suggest that explanations for social ageing can be categorized into three groups: changes in sociality that (a) occur as a result of senescence; (b) result from adaptations to ameliorate the negative effects of senescence; and/or (c) result from positive effects of age and demographic changes. Quantifying the relative contribution of these processes to late-life changes in sociality will allow us to move towards a more holistic understanding of how and why these patterns emerge and will provide important insights into the potential for social ageing to delay or accelerate other patterns of senescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin R Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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19
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Roper M, Capdevila P, Salguero-Gómez R. Senescence: why and where selection gradients might not decline with age. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210851. [PMID: 34284628 PMCID: PMC8292751 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Patterns of ageing across the tree of life are much more diverse than previously thought. Yet, we still do not adequately understand how, why and where across the tree of life a particular pattern of ageing will evolve. An ability to predict ageing patterns requires a firmer understanding of how and why different ecological and evolutionary factors alter the sensitivity of fitness to age-related changes in mortality and reproduction. From this understanding, we can ask why and where selection gradients might not decline with age. Here, we begin by summarizing the recent breadth of literature that is unearthing, empirically and theoretically, the mechanisms that drive variation in patters of senescence. We focus on the relevance of two key parameters, population structure and reproductive value, as key to understanding selection gradients, and therefore senescence. We discuss how growth form, individual trade-offs, stage structure and social interactions may all facilitate differing distributions of these two key parameters than those predicted by classical theory. We argue that these four key aspects can help us understand why patterns of negligible and negative senescence can actually be explained under the same evolutionary framework as classical senescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Roper
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Pol Capdevila
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Roberto Salguero-Gómez
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4071, Australia
- Evolutionary Demography Laboratory, Max Plank Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany
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