Genetic and Social Dynamics in Eusocial Insects

The evolution of eusociality in insects represents a pivotal transition in biological organisation. Ants, bees, wasps and termites form colonies that function as superorganisms, with cooperative brood care, overlapping generations and reproductive division of labour. Caste determination arises from complex gene–environment interactions, where nutritional inputs, pheromonal signals and endogenous hormones converge on regulatory networks to specify queen, worker or soldier phenotypes. Genomic and transcriptomic approaches have revealed key genetic modules governing hormone pathways—such as insulin and target of rapamycin signalling—alongside epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation and histone marking, that fine-tune gene expression and alternative splicing. Comparative analyses across Hymenoptera and Blattodea underscore both deeply conserved elements of chemical communication and independent lineage-specific innovations in chemoreceptor families, microRNAs and transcription factors. These molecular underpinnings enable colonies to adapt division of labour in response to environmental stressors, pathogen pressure and resource availability. Research in this field holds global relevance: eusocial insects are essential pollinators, models for developmental plasticity and inspirations for decentralised algorithms in robotics. Elucidating genetic and social dynamics in these species offers avenues for improving pollinator health, devising sustainable pest control and harnessing bioinspired strategies in synthetic biology.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent gene-editing experiments in the clonal raider ant Ooceraea biroi have shown that disrupting the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1 virtually abolishes germline function without affecting somatic development or caste determination, revealing a specialised role for DNA methylation in oogenesis. Comparative sequencing of the German cockroach and multiple termite species has uncovered convergent expansions and regulatory shifts in pheromone biosynthesis and perception genes, alongside caste-specific transcriptional rewiring, illuminating parallel molecular strategies for colony integration in distantly related eusocial insects.

Genetic and Social Dynamics in Eusocial Insects publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in genetic and social dynamics in eusocial insects across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Eusociality: highest level of social organisation characterised by cooperative brood care, overlapping generations and division of labour including reproductive and non-reproductive castes.

Caste differentiation: developmental process by which individuals adopt specialised roles, such as reproductive queens and sterile workers, within a colony.

DNA methylation: epigenetic modification involving addition of methyl groups to cytosines, influencing gene expression and developmental plasticity.

Transcriptome: complete set of RNA transcripts produced by the genome at a given time, reflecting gene activity in specific tissues or castes.

Epigenetics: study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes to the DNA sequence, including DNA methylation and histone modifications.

References

1. DNMT1 mutant ants develop normally but have disrupted oogenesis. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Hemimetabolous genomes reveal molecular basis of termite eusociality. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2018).
3. Evolution of DNA Methylation across Insects. Molecular Biology and Evolution (2016).
4. The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization. Genome Biology (2015).
5. Transcriptome analyses of primitively eusocial wasps reveal novel insights into the evolution of sociality and the origin of alternative phenotypes. Genome Biology (2013).
6. Expression of insulin pathway genes during the period of caste determination in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Insect Molecular Biology (2006).
7. The Making of a Queen: TOR Pathway Is a Key Player in Diphenic Caste Development. PLOS ONE (2007).