Convergent Evolution Associated with the Loss of Developmental Diapause May Promote Extended Lifespan in Bees
Priscila K F Santos, Karen M Kapheim · 2024
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Description
Priscila Santos and Karen Kapheim test an idea about why some bees live longer, in this 2024 study. Many bees pass winter in diapause, a paused stage of development, but some lineages have lost that pause. The authors reasoned that losing it might free adults to live longer, a step that could also pave the way toward social living.
They compared twenty-seven bee genomes from species with and without the prepupal pause. Species that lost the pause had also lost a growth hormone and its receptor, and they showed a telling pattern in a known lifespan pathway. There, genes that extend life sat under tighter purifying selection, while genes that shorten life sat under looser selection. The authors argue these shifts could lengthen adult life and change how bees answer nutritional signals, both of which matter for the rise of social colonies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Priscila K F Santos, Karen M Kapheim |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 50 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |