Robert E. Page, Jr., Ph.D.

Arbeitsvorhaben

Die evolutionäre Entwicklung der Arbeitsteilung

Project of the Focus Group: One of the main problems of evolutionary biology is to understand the origin of phenotypic (morphological, physiological, and behavioral) variation and novelties. Over the last decades a new discipline of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) has emerged that attempts to integrate developmental and evolutionary biology in an attempt to provide a comprehensive account of phenotypic evolution. Evo-Devo represents a synthesis of different research paradigms - most prominently of developmental genetics and evolutionary biology. However, these traditions have so far largely remained separate, thus keeping Evo-Devo from reaching its full potential. One reason for this separation is that the current model systems of developmental genetics are for the most part not well suited for evolutionary analysis, as they have been selected for their specific uses in developmental genetics. Social insects on the other hand, which until now have not been studied within this context, have several advantages that make it an ideal model system. Manfred Laubichler and I will convene a working group in theoretical biology that will explore the potential of social insects as a model system for evolutionary developmental biology. This working group will synthesize existing work from hitherto largely separate areas of biology (Evo-Devo, theoretical biology, and social insect research) and produce critical reviews to be published in a special issue of the Journal of Experimental Zoology that will focus on how social insects can be developed as a model system for Evo-Devo. This group will thus define a new research program that can then be further pursued in the laboratories of participants and their colleagues.

Individual Project: Social insects demonstrate a remarkable division of labor in which different individuals engage in different tasks. This division of labor is believed to be a key determinant of their evolutionary and ecological success. However, in the most advanced social insects the vast majority of individuals within a society are sterile workers. In the honey bee, the focus of my research, a colony typically consists of a single reproductive queen and thousands of non-reproductive female workers that constitute a workforce divided into specialized tasks. How does such a social structure evolve? There is no single social genome on which natural selection can act. Evolutionary changes in the social structure of the colony must be derived from changes in the frequencies of genes that have effects on the development of non-reproductive individuals (workers). During my stay at the Wissenschaftskolleg, I will sift through the honey bee selective breeding data I have gathered over the last twenty years and look for the signatures and footprints of selective change at the level of worker development that gave rise to fundamental changes in the social structure of colonies. These changes will guide us in our understanding of the developmental evolution of social behavior.

Recommended Reading

Page, R. E., R. Scheiner, J. Erber, and G. V. Amdam. 2006. "The development and evolution of division of labor and foraging specialization in a social insect." Current Topics in Developmental Biology 74: 251-284.
Page, R. E. and G. V. Amdam. 2007. "The making of a social insect: developmental architectures of social design." Bioessays 29: 334-343.

Kolloquium, 12.01.2010

Die Evolution der Arbeitsteilung und Spezialisierung bei der Nahrungssuche bei Honigbienen

Wie entwickelt sich komplexes soziales Verhalten? Welches sind die Bausteine von Teilung, Arbeit und Spezialisierung, dem Kennzeichen von komplexen Insektengesellschaften? Neuere Forschungen zu Verhalten, Genetik und zum Genom haben die Entwicklungsursprünge in der Evolution von Arbeitsteilung und Spezialisierung bei der Nahrungssuche bei den Arbeiterinnen der Honigbiene gezeigt. Selektive Zuchtwahl im Interesse eines einzelnen sozialen Merkmals, die Menge von überschüssigem Pollen in einem Nest (das Horten von Pollen), zeigte eine phänotypische Architektur korrelierter Merkmale auf verschiedenen Ebenen biologischer Organisation bei Arbeiterinnen der Honigbiene, die fakultativ steril sind. Anhand von Genkarten konnte man feststellen, dass die phänotypische Architektur die Folge einer genetischen Architektur ist, die reich an Pleiotropie und Epistase ist; möglicherweise wirkt sie sich auf eine Leitungsbahn von Fortpflanzungssignalen aus. Studien zur partiellen Abschaltung von Genen und zur Transplantation von Ovarien stützen die Hypothese, dass Arbeitsteilung und Spezialisierung bei der Futtersuche vom Fortpflanzungszyklus solitärer Insekten abgeleitet werden können und unter der Kontrolle der Ovarien stehen. Die Entwicklung der Ovarien steht bei der Honigbiene unter der Kontrolle eines sozialen Genoms, das die gemeinsame Entwicklungskontrolle der unreifen Arbeiterlarve und seiner Nestgeschwister steuert, die sie füttern.

Publikationen aus der Fellowbibliothek

Page, Jr., Robert E. (Cold Spring Habor, 2022)

Identifying a developmental transition in honey bees using gene expression data

Page, Jr., Robert E. (New York, NY, 2020)

The art of the bee : shaping the environment from landscapes to societies

Page, Jr., Robert E. (Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.], 2013)

The spirit of the hive : the mechanisms of social evolution

Page, Jr., Robert E. (2012)

Development and evolution of caste dimorphism in honeybees – a modeling approach

Page, Jr., Robert E. (Cambridge, 2012)

Regulation of behaviorally associated gene networks in worker honey bee ovaries

Page, Jr., Robert E. ([Madison, Wis.], 2011)

Rearing honey bees, Apis mellifera, in vitro 1: Effects of sugar concentrations on survival and development : Osman Kaftanoglu, Timothy A. Linksvayer, Robert E. Page, Jr.

Page, Jr., Robert E. (New York, NY [u.a.], 2010)

Surgically increased ovarian mass in the honey bee confirms link between reproductive physiology and worker behavior

Page, Jr., Robert E. (Amsterdam, 2009)

Regulation of honeybee worker (Apis mellifera) : life histories by vitellogenin

Page, Jr., Robert E. (2009)

Honeybee social regulatory networks are shaped by colony-level selection

Page, Jr., Robert E. (Cambridge, Mass., 2009)

Social life from solitary regulatory networks : a paradigm for insect sociality