100 Million Years of Social Evolution

The genetic and genomic changes associated with the evolution, maintenance, and regulation of eusociality is currently not well understood in part because so far only one sociogenome (honeybee) was available. Building upon the recent sequencing of seven ant genomes we performed a comparative analysis of the genomic organization of two insect lineages that convergently evolved eusociality (bees and ants) and other solitary insects (Gadau et al. 2011). Ant genomes differ in many fundamental aspects from the honeybee genome , e.g. gene number, lineage specific genes, DNA methylation, miRNA composition, transcription factors, and transcription factor binding sites. Additionally, ant evolution over the past 10-100 million years has also lead to dramatic genomic reorganizations between the seven ants both in terms of gene composition and regulation. Gadau et al. 2011 The genomic impact of 100 million years of social evolution in seven ant species. Trends in Genetics, Volume 28: 14-21.