Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Jul 27;366(1574):2155-70. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0346.
Bees provide an excellent model with which to study the neuronal and molecular modifications associated with the evolution of sociality because relatively closely related species differ profoundly in social behaviour, from solitary to highly social. The recent development of powerful genomic tools and resources has set the stage for studying the social behaviour of bees in molecular terms. We review 'ground plan' and 'genetic toolkit' models which hypothesize that discrete pathways or sets of genes that regulate fundamental behavioural and physiological processes in solitary species have been co-opted to regulate complex social behaviours in social species. We further develop these models and propose that these conserved pathways and genes may be incorporated into 'social pathways', which consist of relatively independent modules involved in social signal detection, integration and processing within the nervous and endocrine systems, and subsequent behavioural outputs. Modifications within modules or in their connections result in the evolution of novel behavioural patterns. We describe how the evolution of pheromonal regulation of social pathways may lead to the expression of behaviour under new social contexts, and review plasticity in circadian rhythms as an example for a social pathway with a modular structure.
蜜蜂为研究与社会性进化相关的神经元和分子修饰提供了一个极好的模型，因为相对密切相关的物种在社会行为上存在着巨大的差异，从独居到高度群居。强大的基因组工具和资源的最新发展为研究蜜蜂的社会行为提供了分子基础。我们回顾了“基本模式”和“遗传工具包”模型，这些模型假设，调节独居物种基本行为和生理过程的离散途径或基因集合已被改造成调节群居物种复杂的社会行为。我们进一步发展了这些模型，并提出这些保守的途径和基因可能被纳入“社会途径”，其中包括涉及神经和内分泌系统中社会信号检测、整合和处理以及随后的行为输出的相对独立的模块。模块内或其连接中的修饰导致新行为模式的进化。我们描述了信息素调节社会途径的进化如何导致在新的社会环境下表达行为，并回顾了昼夜节律的可塑性作为具有模块化结构的社会途径的一个例子。
