Epigenetics of behavior

In the small carpenter bee Ceratina calcarata, a maternally mediated polymorphism differentiates full-sized individuals and so-called “dwarf eldest daughters”. The prevailing view was that such polymorphisms and eusocial polymorphisms more broadly were regulated by DNA methylation. In collaboration with Sandra Rehan, I showed that variation in a plastic social phenotype is not directly regulated by DNA methylation but rather through independent changes in gene expression. Further, using a comparative genomics approach in collaboration with Karl Glastad, we showed that genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation are not associated with the evolution of eusocial polymorphisms. Using a novel model system, I tested and rejected the prevailing hypothesis that DNA methylation is the core regulator of eusocial polymorphisms.