Mikhailova Alina A, Rinke Sarah, Harrison Mark C
Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasße 1, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasße 1, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2024 Feb;61:101136. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101136. Epub 2023 Nov 3.
The genomes of eusocial insects allow the production and regulation of highly distinct phenotypes, largely independent of genotype. Although rare, eusociality has evolved convergently in at least three insect orders (Hymenoptera, Blattodea and Coleoptera). Despite such disparate origins, eusocial phenotypes show remarkable similarity, exhibiting long-lived reproductives and short-lived sterile workers and soldiers. In this article, we review current knowledge on genomic signatures of eusocial evolution. We confirm that especially an increased regulatory complexity and the adaptive evolution of chemical communication are common to several origins of eusociality. Furthermore, colony life itself can shape genomes of divergent taxa in a similar manner. Future research should be geared towards generating more high-quality genomic resources, especially in hitherto understudied clades, such as ambrosia beetles and termites. The application of more sophisticated tools such as machine learning techniques may allow the detection of more subtle convergent genomic footprints of eusociality.
群居昆虫的基因组能够产生并调控高度不同的表型，且很大程度上独立于基因型。尽管群居性在昆虫中较为罕见，但它至少在三个昆虫目（膜翅目、蜚蠊目和鞘翅目）中趋同进化。尽管起源如此不同，但群居性表型却表现出显著的相似性，具有长寿的繁殖个体以及短命的不育工蚁和兵蚁。在本文中，我们综述了关于群居进化的基因组特征的现有知识。我们证实，特别是调控复杂性的增加以及化学通讯的适应性进化在群居性的多个起源中是共有的。此外，群体生活本身也能够以类似的方式塑造不同类群的基因组。未来的研究应致力于生成更多高质量的基因组资源，尤其是在迄今研究较少的类群中，如食菌小蠹和白蚁。应用更复杂的工具，如机器学习技术，可能会使我们检测到群居性更细微的趋同基因组印记。
