Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jun 28;108 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):10847-54. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1100301108. Epub 2011 Jun 20.
The social insects live in extraordinarily complex and cohesive societies, where many individuals sacrifice their personal reproduction to become helpers in the colony. Identifying adaptive molecular changes involved in eusocial evolution in insects is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying transitions from solitary to social living, as well as the maintenance and elaboration of social life. Here, we review recent advances made in this area of research in several insect groups: the ants, bees, wasps, and termites. Drawing from whole-genome comparisons, candidate gene approaches, and a genome-scale comparative analysis of protein-coding sequence, we highlight novel insights gained for five major biological processes: chemical signaling, brain development and function, immunity, reproduction, and metabolism and nutrition. Lastly, we make comparisons across these diverse approaches and social insect lineages and discuss potential common themes of eusocial evolution, as well as challenges and prospects for future research in the field.
社会性昆虫生活在极其复杂和有凝聚力的社会中，许多个体牺牲自己的个人繁殖能力，成为群体中的帮手。鉴定昆虫中涉及真社会性进化的适应性分子变化对于理解从独居到群居生活的转变机制，以及维持和完善社会生活的机制非常重要。在这里，我们回顾了在几个昆虫群中这一研究领域的最新进展：蚂蚁、蜜蜂、胡蜂和白蚁。通过全基因组比较、候选基因方法以及蛋白质编码序列的全基因组比较分析，我们强调了在五个主要生物学过程中获得的新见解：化学信号、大脑发育和功能、免疫、繁殖以及新陈代谢和营养。最后，我们比较了这些不同的方法和社会性昆虫谱系，并讨论了真社会性进化的潜在共同主题，以及该领域未来研究的挑战和前景。
