Collaborative Research: Using Comparative Genomics to Study the Evolution of Social Behavior

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One of the most significant findings in biology in the past twenty years is that there is a shared set of genes that serve as the foundation for development in all animals, big and small, insect and mammal. Is the same true for social behavior? This proposal addresses this question with comparative genomic analysis, focusing on two species of social insects that are distantly related to each other, honey bees (Apis mellifera) and paper wasps (Polistes metricus). The hypothesis to be tested is that foraging involves the same genes in different species, even species that regulate foraging socially in different ways. To test this hypothesis, brain gene expression patterns will be compared. A large and diverse team of researchers will be assembled to perform this project with expertise in social behavior, honey bee biology, wasp biology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics. The genome of the honey bee already has been sequenced, so genomic information is readily available for this species. For the wasp, a new approach to obtain the requisite sequences has been developed and tested, and will be used. Results from this project will illuminate our understanding of the evolution of social behavior. Genomic information for the wasp will form a new public resource available freely to the scientific community. The project will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduates, including those at a small, liberal arts undergraduate institution. This project also will enhance the research experiences of two new faculty investigators.