Behavioral Attributes of Social Groups Determine the Strength and Direction of Selection on Neural Investment

Caponera, Virginia; Avilés, Leticia; Barrett, Meghan; O’Donnell, Sean

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.733228

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 75 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, shifts in behavioral development and the timing of social behaviors, reproductive behavior, and dispersal behaviors, are also hypothesized to be critical in the evolution of sociality in spiders 20,25 and insects 4 . Finally, changes in the size of certain brain regions and sensory organs are hypothesized to be important for detecting and processing social signals and social information 55,56 . The shifts in rates of molecular evolution between social and nonsocial branches that we detected in genes associated with neural function, neurogenesis, behavior, and reproduction may underlie changes in these phenotypes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

et al. 2022

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The transition from solitary to social life is a major phenotypic innovation, but its genetic underpinnings are largely unknown. To identify genomic changes associated with this transition, we compare the genomes of 22 spider species representing eight recent and independent origins of sociality. Hundreds of genes tend to experience shifts in selection during the repeated transition to social life. These genes are associated with several key functions, such as neurogenesis, behavior, and metabolism, and include genes that previously have been implicated in animal social behavior and human behavioral disorders. In addition, social species have elevated genome-wide rates of molecular evolution associated with relaxed selection caused by reduced effective population size. Altogether, our study provides unprecedented insights into the genomic signatures of social evolution and the specific genetic changes that repeatedly underpin the evolution of sociality. Our study also highlights the heretofore unappreciated potential of transcriptomics using ethanol-preserved specimens for comparative genomics and phylotranscriptomics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

et al. 2022

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

Tong¹,

Avilés²,

Rayor

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Sociality is a striking phenotypic innovation that independently evolved dozens of times across animals. Sociogenomic approaches have begun to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of social life in social insects and vertebrates, but the degree to which the convergent evolution of sociality involves convergent molecular evolution remains controversial and largely unknown. Spiders are a powerful system for identifying the genomic causes and consequences of social life because sociality is estimated to have independently evolved 15 times, and each origin likely occurred recently, within the past few million years. To determine if there are statistically supported genomic signatures of protein-coding sequence evolution associated with the convergent evolution of sociality in spiders, we compared the genomes or transcriptomes of 24 spider species that vary in social organization and represent at least seven independent origins of sociality. We identified hundreds of genes that experienced shifts in patterns of molecular evolution during the convergent evolution of sociality, and these genes were enriched for several annotated functions, including neural function, neurogenesis, and behavior, as well as immune function, growth, and metabolism. We also found evidence that directional selection for specific substitutions repeatedly occurred in social species for several genes, in particular the calcium channel gene TPC1. Finally, supporting previous results, we found elevated genome-wide rates of molecular evolution in social species, resulting mainly from relaxation of selection. Altogether, we identify genome-wide, genic, and site-specific changes that repeatedly occurred during the evolution of sociality in spiders.Significance StatementThe transition from solitary to social life is a major transition in evolution that repeatedly occurred, but the genetic underpinnings are largely unknown. To identify genomic changes associated with sociality, we compared the genomes of 24 spider species, representing seven recent and independent origins of sociality. We identified hundreds of genes and many functional classes of genes that tended to experience shifts in molecular evolution, including genes that have previously been implicated in animal social behavior and human behavioral disorders. Our study shows that while the precise genetic details vary, the repeated evolution of sociality in spiders predictably leaves genome-wide signatures and involves sets of genes with conserved functions that may play general roles in the evolution of social behavior.

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Small Brains: Body Shape Constrains Tissue Allocation to the Central Nervous System in Ant‐Mimicking Spiders

Kelly,

Penna‐Gonçalves,

Willmott

et al. 2024

J of Comparative Neurology

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In Batesian mimicry, mimetic traits are not always as convincing as predicted by theory—in fact, inaccurate mimicry with only a superficial model resemblance is common and taxonomically widespread. The “selection trade‐offs hypothesis” proposes a life‐history trade‐off between accurate mimetic traits and one or more vital biological functions. Here, using an accurate myrmecomorphic (ant‐mimicking) jumping spider species, Myrmarachne smaragdina, we investigate how myrmecomorphic modifications to the body shape impact the internal anatomy in a way that could be functionally limiting. Specifically, via x‐ray micro‐computed tomography (microCT), we quantify how the spider's constricted prosoma, which emulates the head and thorax of ants, impacts the size of the central nervous system (CNS) and the venom glands. Although, relative to their whole‐body mass, we found no significant difference in venom gland volume, the CNS of the ant‐mimicking jumping spider was significantly smaller when compared with a relatively closely related non‐mimic jumping spider, indicating that some trade‐off between mimic accuracy and size of neural anatomy, as articulated by the “selection trade‐offs hypothesis,” is a possibility. Our explorative evidence enables and encourages broader investigation of how variable mimic accuracy impacts the neuroanatomy in ant mimics as a direct test of the “selection trade‐offs hypothesis.”

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Behavioral Attributes of Social Groups Determine the Strength and Direction of Selection on Neural Investment

Cited by 4 publications

References 75 publications

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders

Small Brains: Body Shape Constrains Tissue Allocation to the Central Nervous System in Ant‐Mimicking Spiders

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