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Review
. 2019 Jul 22;374(1777):20180242.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0242. Epub 2019 Jun 3.

Evolution of affiliation: patterns of convergence from genomes to behaviour

Eva K Fischer  1 , Jessica P Nowicki  1 , Lauren A O'Connell  1
Affiliations
Review

Evolution of affiliation: patterns of convergence from genomes to behaviour

Eva K Fischer et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Affiliative behaviours have evolved many times across animals. Research on the mechanisms underlying affiliative behaviour demonstrates remarkable convergence across species spanning wide evolutionary distances. Shared mechanisms have been identified with genomic approaches analysing genetic variants and gene expression differences as well as neuroendocrine and molecular approaches exploring the role of hormones and signalling molecules. We review the genomic and neural basis of pair bonding and parental care across diverse taxa to shed light on mechanistic patterns that underpin the convergent evolution of affiliative behaviour. We emphasize that mechanisms underlying convergence in complex phenotypes like affiliation should be evaluated on a continuum, where signatures of convergence may vary across levels of biological organization. In particular, additional comparative studies within and across major vertebrate lineages will be essential in resolving when and why shared neural substrates are repeatedly targeted in the independent evolution of affiliation, and how similar mechanisms are evolutionarily tuned to give rise to species-specific variations in behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Convergent evolution in the genomics era: new insights and directions'.

Keywords: affiliation; convergent evolution; pair bonding; parental care; social behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare we have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Similar phenotypes may rely on different underlying mechanisms. (a) Conserved mechanisms produce similar phenotypes when a common ancestor also expressed the phenotype and the same mechanisms, including the same genes, neuron cell types (top) and brain regions (middle). A behavioural example of this is maternal care in mammals (bottom). (b) Convergent mechanisms are involved when similar phenotypes arise independently but the same genes, neuron cell types (top) and brain regions (middle) are responsible for these similar behaviours. A behavioural example of this is paternal behaviour in mammals and fish. (c) We encourage the use of the category of partially shared mechanisms, where the independent evolution of similar phenotypes likely relies on similar features at one level of biological organization (e.g. same brain regions; middle panel) but different mechanisms at other levels (e.g. different neuronal cell types or gene modulatory networks; top panel). Additionally, this can also apply to partially shared mechanisms within a level, such as the involvement of a subset of brain regions, but not a perfect overlap, in promoting the convergent evolution of behaviour. A behavioural example of this is pair bonding in mammals and birds.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Distribution and estimated prevalence of pair bonding and parental care across select vertebrate lineages. Data sources: Pair bonding—mammals: [–7]; birds: [8]; reptiles: [–11]; amphibians: [12,13]; fishes: [–16]. Parental care—mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes: [17]. Representative pair bonding and parental species illustrated. All prevalence percentages are at the species level, except for parental care estimates of ray-finned fishes, which are at the family level. The absence of estimated prevalence percentage indicates it is unknown. *Among Westernized societies.
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