期刊
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
卷 7, 期 -, 页码 -出版社
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00503
关键词
symbiosis; division of labor; gut microbiome; major evolutionary transition; superorganism
类别
资金
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [HFSP-RGP0060/2018]
- ERC [771349]
- European Research Council (ERC) [771349] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
Social insects maximize resource acquisition and allocation through division of labor and associations with microbial symbionts. Colonies divide labor among castes and subcastes, where the plasticity of caste roles decreases in clades with higher social grades. Recent studies indicate that specific castes may also foster distinct gut microbiomes, suggesting synergies between division of labor and symbiosis. The social organization of a colony potentially partitions evolutionary persistent microbial partners to optimize symbioses and complement division of labor. However, research in this area has received limited attention. To elucidate if a structured microbiota is adaptive, we present three testable predictions to address consistent community structure, beneficial functions, and selection for microbiota that support caste roles. First, we posit that social insect groups spanning lower to higher social grades exhibit increasingly distinct caste microbiomes, suggesting that structured microbiomes may have evolved in parallel to social complexity. Second, we contend that the development of these microbiomes during colony maturation may clarify the extent to which they support division of labor. Third, we predict that mature social insect colonies with the most extreme division of labor demonstrate the strongest distinctions between caste microbiomes, carrying the greatest promise of insight into microbiome composition and function. Ultimately, we hypothesize that caste-specific microbiomes may enhance symbiotic benefits and the efficiency of division of labor, consequently maximizing fitness.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据