Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution
Social insect colonies can express adaptive, organism-like design. In some cases, colonies so resemble a unique, cohesive and integrated “individual” that they are termed superorganisms. The major evolutionary transitions framework explains, via inclusive fitness theory, how new levels of biological...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00186/full |
| _version_ | 1818457480359837696 |
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| author | Christopher D. Pull Dino P. McMahon Dino P. McMahon |
| author_facet | Christopher D. Pull Dino P. McMahon Dino P. McMahon |
| author_sort | Christopher D. Pull |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social insect colonies can express adaptive, organism-like design. In some cases, colonies so resemble a unique, cohesive and integrated “individual” that they are termed superorganisms. The major evolutionary transitions framework explains, via inclusive fitness theory, how new levels of biological individuality, including genes into genomes within cells, cells into multicellular organisms and organisms into superorganisms can emerge. Importantly, it highlights how at each major transition similar challenges arose and why seemingly convergent solutions evolved. One challenge faced at each transition is exploitation, caused internally by social cheaters and externally by parasites and pathogens. To overcome the problem of exploitation transitions in biological individuality required novel immune systems to maintain the integrity of newly emerged individuals. Multicellular organisms evolved an immune system while social insect colonies evolved a social immune system. In this review, we take a major transitions perspective of immunity to highlight the interdependency between the evolution of immune systems and the emergence of biological individuality. We build on the notion that superorganisms have evolved an immune system to promote the fitness of the colony. We draw parallels between the evolution of the metazoan immune system and the social immune system, and their expression as cognitive networks. Moreover, we discuss how research on other group-living species, such as family based cooperative breeders, can inform our understanding of how social immune systems evolve. We conclude that superorganism immunity is an adaptive suite of organismal traits that evolves to maximize the fitness of advanced social insect colonies, fulfilling the same function as the immune system of Metazoa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:43:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bac2a51f7e884917b37b333224a5ebec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:43:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-bac2a51f7e884917b37b333224a5ebec2022-12-21T22:44:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2020-06-01810.3389/fevo.2020.00186525331Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System EvolutionChristopher D. Pull0Dino P. McMahon1Dino P. McMahon2Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United KingdomInstitut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, GermanyDepartment for Materials and the Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, GermanySocial insect colonies can express adaptive, organism-like design. In some cases, colonies so resemble a unique, cohesive and integrated “individual” that they are termed superorganisms. The major evolutionary transitions framework explains, via inclusive fitness theory, how new levels of biological individuality, including genes into genomes within cells, cells into multicellular organisms and organisms into superorganisms can emerge. Importantly, it highlights how at each major transition similar challenges arose and why seemingly convergent solutions evolved. One challenge faced at each transition is exploitation, caused internally by social cheaters and externally by parasites and pathogens. To overcome the problem of exploitation transitions in biological individuality required novel immune systems to maintain the integrity of newly emerged individuals. Multicellular organisms evolved an immune system while social insect colonies evolved a social immune system. In this review, we take a major transitions perspective of immunity to highlight the interdependency between the evolution of immune systems and the emergence of biological individuality. We build on the notion that superorganisms have evolved an immune system to promote the fitness of the colony. We draw parallels between the evolution of the metazoan immune system and the social immune system, and their expression as cognitive networks. Moreover, we discuss how research on other group-living species, such as family based cooperative breeders, can inform our understanding of how social immune systems evolve. We conclude that superorganism immunity is an adaptive suite of organismal traits that evolves to maximize the fitness of advanced social insect colonies, fulfilling the same function as the immune system of Metazoa.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00186/fullsuperorganismdiseasesocial evolutionmajor evolutionary transitionsocial immunity |
| spellingShingle | Christopher D. Pull Dino P. McMahon Dino P. McMahon Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution superorganism disease social evolution major evolutionary transition social immunity |
| title | Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution |
| title_full | Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution |
| title_fullStr | Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution |
| title_short | Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution |
| title_sort | superorganism immunity a major transition in immune system evolution |
| topic | superorganism disease social evolution major evolutionary transition social immunity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.00186/full |
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