Molecular Mechanisms Of Hamiltonian Traits In Hymenoptera

Hamilton’s rule has helped to reframe how we look at evolutionary biology. Incorporating inclusive fitness into our understanding of species interactions has helped define altruistic, selfish, spiteful and mutalistic interactions. While there is a strong theoretical understanding of these types of interactions, how they manifest molecularly is poorly understood. This thesis attempts to investigate some of the molecular mechanisms driven by Hamilton’s rule and the issues that have to be resolved so that these interactions can be fully understood. To understand the issues identifying molecular mechanisms in genomic conflict, I determined the problems with calling allele-specific expression and how it is not a good estimate for genomic imprinting. Looking at conflict at the species level I found a potential mechanism for sperm activation in Nasonia vitripenis that potentially allows for controlled sex allocation in response to kin selection mating pressures. To understand how altruistic behaviour is controlled in social insects I conducted a comparative analysis exploring RNA editing and its relation to reproductive phenotypic plasticity in Hymenoptera. This work identified a correlation between editing and reproductive flexibility, however this could be conflated with genome quality and therefore needs further study. Finally to understand the problems in investigating mutalistic relationships I determine how environmental pollutants can affect the wild Bombus terrestris microbiome. A correlation between several pollutants and core bacteria from the B. terrestris was identified but future studies will be needed to identify any affects on bee health. Overall this thesis identifies new avenues of exploration for understanding the molecular mechanisms driven by Hamilton’s rule.