Developmental plasticity shapes social traits and selection in a facultatively eusocial bee

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Developmental biology
• Genomics

Background:

• Developmental plasticity generates phenotypic variation, crucial for evolutionary change.
• The evolutionary origins of eusociality (social behavior in insect societies) may stem from developmental plasticity in ancestral species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the links between developmental plasticity, molecular evolution, and social behavior.
• To understand the genetic basis of flexible sociality in the bee *Megalopta genalis* as a model for the evolution of eusociality.

Main Methods:

• Integrative genomics approach.
• Analysis of molecular evolution and gene regulation.
• Study of social behavior in *Megalopta genalis*.

Main Results:

• Differences in social behavior are linked to genes controlling sex differentiation and metamorphosis.
• Positive selection on social traits is influenced by developmental gene functions.
• Evidence suggests social polyphenisms can be genetically encoded through changes in regulatory regions, like transcription factor binding sites.

Conclusions:

• Developmental plasticity serves as a foundation for evolutionary novelty.
• Plasticity shapes the selective pressures driving molecular evolution, particularly in the context of major evolutionary innovations like eusociality.