Gene expression and the evolution of phenotypic diversity in social wasps |
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Authors: | Eric A Hoffman Michael AD Goodisman |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816, USA;(2) School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA |
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Abstract: | Background Organisms are capable of developing different phenotypes by altering the genes they express. This phenotypic plasticity provides a means for species to respond effectively to environmental conditions. One of the most dramatic examples of phenotypic plasticity occurs in the highly social hymenopteran insects (ants, social bees, and social wasps), where distinct castes and sexes all arise from the same genes. To elucidate how variation in patterns of gene expression affects phenotypic variation, we conducted a study to simultaneously address the influence of developmental stage, sex, and caste on patterns of gene expression in Vespula wasps. Furthermore, we compared the patterns found in this species to those found in other taxa in order to investigate how variation in gene expression leads to phenotypic evolution. |
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