The social life of honeybees coordinated by a single gene

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A honeybee gene originally used in egg production has become an important behavioral modulator and a timekeeper of social life. Image: Siri-Christine Seehuus
A honeybee gene originally used in egg production has become an important behavioral modulator and a timekeeper of social life. Image: Siri-Christine Seehuus

Students of the evolution of social behavior got a big boost with the publication of the newly sequenced honeybee genome in October 2006. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) belongs to the rarified cadre of insects that pool resources, divide tasks, and communicate with each other in highly structured colonies. Understanding how this advanced state of organization evolved from a solitary lifestyle has been an enduring question in biology.


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