Social Behavior In Ants From A Genetic Perspective

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Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 18 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Scientists have made a step towards understanding how genes and the environment influence social behavior by learning about the numbers and types of genes that control social organization in fire ant colonies. These results are published in an article released on July 17, 2008 in the open access journal PLoS Genetics.

The fire ant Solenopsis invicta was examined for its variation in the number of queens in a colony, a variation not present in all ant species. The individual actions of members of the colony contribute to this colony-level phenotype, but it seems to be regulated by a gene called Gp-9. Namely, this gene appears to determine the tolerance of worker ants to either a monogene social form, in which there is one fertile queen, or the polygene social form, in which there is more than one fertile queen.

Researchers at the University of Lausanne and the University of Georgia showed 39 differentially expressed genes between workers with different Gp-9 phenotype displays. This group included a number of genes that regulate chemical signaling, which maybe essential to the regulation of the colony queen number as well as other aspects of social organization. Additionally, 91 genes were found that were indirectly influenced by social environments, such as the Gp-9 genotypes of neighboring nest-mates. This indicates that specific social environments can modify the gene expression of nearby organisms.

This work implicates a relatively small number of genes involved in this trait of social structure, often predicted with roles in chemical communication. It helps our understanding of how social environments can influence genetic expression of socially relevant traits. Notably, it starts to indicate the level of complexity involved in genetic interactions with social behaviors, which has great implications for other social animals.

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Genome-Wide Expression Patterns and the Genetic Architecture of a Fundamental Social Trait.
Wang J, Ross KG, Keller L (2008) 
PLoS Genet 4(7): e1000127.
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000127
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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
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