I don't know how many read ABJ here but in the latest issue I wrote

I want to touch upon is some recent revelations by Arián Avalos et al. in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They studied the genetic makeup of bees in Puerto Rico whose behavior had varied levels of defensiveness. They hoped to identify specific DNA sequences that correlated with observable behavior. In order to do this, they banged on the tops of the hives with a cement block. Some of the colonies were so passive that this barely produced a response; others came out stinging. This was accompanied by a sting assay using a black suede patch. They collected the stinging bees (“soldiers”) and also the foragers that apparently felt their job was to keep on collecting nectar while their sisters did the police work. 

The researchers were surprised to find little correlation between the genetic profiles of stinging versus non-stinging bees. However, they found they could assess the collective colony genome and from that they established a genetic profile. Here’s how they describe it:

The strong correlation observed between aggression and group genotype (but not individual genotype) provides strong evidence of indirect genetic effects, where the intensity of aggression is determined by the group allele frequencies more than by individual genetics. We conclude that group genetics is more important than individual genetics, giving further insight into the relationships between “nature,” “nurture,” and behavioral evolution. 

Avalos, A., et al. (2020). Genomic regions influencing aggressive behavior in honey bees are defined by colony allele frequencies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(29), 17135-17141.

Borst, PL (2023) Honey Bee Pedigrees. ABJ May

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html