Rate variation in the evolution of non-coding DNA associated with social evolution in bees.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary origins of eusociality represent increases in complexity from individual to caste-based, group reproduction. These behavioural transitions have been hypothesized to go hand in hand with an increased ability to regulate when and where genes are expressed. Bees have convergently evolved eusociality up to five times, providing a framework to test this hypothesis. To examine potential links between putative gene regulatory elements and social evolution, we compare alignable, non-coding sequences in 11 diverse bee species, encompassing three independent origins of reproductive division of labour and two elaborations of eusocial complexity. We find that rates of evolution in a number of non-coding sequences correlate with key social transitions in bees. Interestingly, while we f

SUBMITTER: Rubin BER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6560270 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature