Wasp’s up? The molecular regulation of behavioural transitions in solitary wasps

Social insects exemplify a major transition in evolution and show how cooperative organisms can reach higher levels of social organization.

To gain a deeper understanding of the molecular regulation that drives the behavioural transitions in wasps, I will perform WASSUP.

This project will integrate proximate mechanisms to the evolution of wasp sociality, by studying the ancestral origins of pre-social behaviour, and its importance at the very early stages of sociality.

The molecular mechanisms underpinning the nest cycles in solitary species provide mechanistic basis for the evolution of division of labour in social wasps and progressive provisioning as a preadaptation to maternal care.

WASSUP will focus in Ammophila solitary wasps to explore this molecular basis of behavioural and evolutionary transitions.

Based on the genome, transcriptome, and chemosensory machinery basis of key species, I will compare genomic traits of mass and progressive provisioning and test the hypothesis that progressive provisioning is a precursor to maternal care.

Specifically, I predict that the molecular processes specific to progressive provisioning (as opposed to mass provisioning) will also be important in regulating foraging behaviour in eusocial species, especially those that represent the first stages of social evolution (e.g. Polistes). I will test functionality of any key genes regulating the provisioning behaviours using RNAi.

WASSUP will help to understand the ancestral origins of pre-social behaviour and how division of labour evolved and how is regulated. Prof.

Sumner’s lab provides expertise and training in the model species, molecular biology methods and bioinformatics; I bring to this my expertise in chemical, behavioural ecology, and evolution of wasps. With MSCA fellowship, I will benefit from the complementary expertise from the lab.

This fellowship will be instrumental in equipping me to be a world-class scientist and develop my own independent line of research.