Collaborative Research: Using comparative genomics to study the evolution of social behavior

在过去的二十年里，生物学中最重要的发现之一是，所有动物，无论大小，昆虫还是哺乳动物，都有一组共同的基因，它们是发育的基础。社会行为也是如此吗？本研究通过比较基因组分析解决了这个问题，重点研究了两种彼此远亲的社会昆虫，蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）和纸黄蜂（Polistes metricus）。需要验证的假设是，不同物种的觅食涉及相同的基因，即使是以不同方式调节社交觅食的物种。为了验证这一假设，将比较大脑基因表达模式。一个庞大而多样化的研究团队将汇集在社会行为，蜜蜂生物学，黄蜂生物学，进化生物学，分子生物学，基因组学和生物信息学方面的专业知识来执行这个项目。蜜蜂的基因组已经被测序，所以这个物种的基因组信息很容易获得。对于黄蜂来说，一种获得所需序列的新方法已经开发和测试，并将被使用。这个项目的结果将阐明我们对社会行为进化的理解。黄蜂的基因组信息将形成一种新的公共资源，可供科学界免费使用。该项目将为博士后、研究生和本科生提供跨学科的培训机会，包括小型文科本科院校的学生。该项目还将提高两位新教员研究员的研究经验。

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.