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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Alun JonesORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© Crown 2026. The phenotypic diversity between castes in social species has been associated with increased regulation of gene expression. while the regulatory role of transcription factors (TFs) in the social transitions of Hymenoptera (bees, ants and wasps) is well studied, it remains poorly explored in Blattodea (cockroaches and termites). By analysing three cockroach and five termite genomes, we show that while Blattodea share some convergent regulatory signatures with Hymenoptera, their transition is mostly characterised by distinct regulatory changes. We identified convergent patterns such as TF families with more relaxed selection compared to intensified selection and lineage-specific gene family expansions in termites, which has also been reported in Hymenoptera. There are also key differences in Blattodea TF regulation in comparison with Hymenoptera with contractions in TF gene families and no compensatory changes in TF DNA binding motifs either in frequency or diversity in TF promoter regions. Furthermore, we show that an increase in social complexity associates with greater diversity in TF activating domains, one of the evolutionary and structural building blocks of TFs; meanwhile, DNA-binding domains, undergo very little change. This study highlights similarities in social transitions between Hymenoptera and Blattodea, with evidence of large changes in transcriptional regulation followed by lineage specific adaptations. Our results indicate that at least in the case of Blattodea, the transcriptional diversity linked to social complexity is not attributable to transcription factors alone, but is instead likely driven in combination with alternative mechanisms.
Author(s): Jones ARC, Dohmen E, Berger J, Legendre F, Harrison M, Bornberg-Bauer E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Molecular Evolution
Year: 2026
Volume: 94
Pages: 655-667
Print publication date: 01/08/2026
Online publication date: 23/07/2026
Acceptance date: 18/06/2026
Date deposited: 03/08/2026
ISSN (print): 0022-2844
ISSN (electronic): 1432-1432
Publisher: Springer Nature
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-026-10328-1
DOI: 10.1007/s00239-026-10328-1
Data Access Statement: Scripts and data available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4902573
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