The Evolution of Social Bees

Did you know, that not long ago, all bees didnt live together in hives? By studying ten
different species of bees, scientists are now able to determine the genetic signature of communal
living in bees. All of these species represent different living arrangements in their species. In this
essay, how bees came to live together will be discussed.
The first article on this topic is on The Scientist, one of the most thorough articles on
this topic. By doing this comparative analysis they show several clear changes associated with
the evolution of the two eusocial groups of bees [including] changes in the regulation of gene
expression, This is a statement made by evolutionary ecologist, Laurent Keller, who is from the
University of Lausanne in Switzerland. This transition from single bees to colonies is very
similar to a unicellular organism evolving into a multicellular organism. Scientists have also
found a decrease in a gene in eusocial bees (bees that separate themselves from others in an act
of isolation, leading them to begin creating colonies.
It is not just one gene causing the bees to gather, there are multiple theories on the topic
of genes. Gene Robinson, a biologist at the University of Illinois has been working on a theory
about the bees. He believes, and so do other scientists, that there is a gene that helps signal
between cells, leading to an increase in communities. Another idea is that some species of bees
are born into their communities and that is how a widespread of communal living occurs.
However, the key to the social genome might lie not only in different genes, but also in how
those genes are controlled when and where they are turned on and off during their evolution
cycle, if it has turned off recently or earlier in the past.
The final article was found on phys.org. The information in this article relates back to the
previous information in article one, The Scientist. By contrast, evolution seems to have put the
brakes on changes in many parts of the genome that code for the actual proteins, Gene Robinson
said. Similarly, there was an increase in DNA methylation as social complexity increased, which
also means enhanced gene regulatory capacity. So, in conclusion of this article, an increase in
DNA methylation (an epigenetic mechanism used by cells to control gene expression) could
have possibly led to a decrease in the gene eusocial bees contain. In the process of evolution,
bees had to adapt, communities offer a better chance of survival. The more communities grow, a
greater decrease in the eusocial gene and a greater increase in DNA methylation as social
complexity increases.
In conclusion, a decrease in certain genes in species of bees has led to increased
communities and hives. Due to the decrease, in increase in DNA methylation as social
complexity has risen. This topic relates in a very similar way to our biology class. Evolution is
one of biologys biggest topics, and certain species are still evolving. Scientists keep finding
proof that certain organisms dont just stop evolving and never change, we are in a continuous
phase of evolution, just like these bees.