The gene “degrees of kevin bacon” (dokb) regulates a social network behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster

Rebecca Rooke, Joshua J. Krupp, Amara Rasool, Mireille Golemiec, Megan Stewart, Jonathan Schneider and Joel D. Levine ()
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Rebecca Rooke: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Joshua J. Krupp: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Amara Rasool: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Mireille Golemiec: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Megan Stewart: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Jonathan Schneider: University of Toronto at Mississauga
Joel D. Levine: University of Toronto at Mississauga

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Social networks are a mathematical representation of interactions among individuals which are prevalent across various animal species. Studies of human populations have shown the breadth of what can spread throughout a social network: obesity, smoking cessation, happiness, drug use and divorce. ‘Betweenness centrality’ is a key property of social networks that indicates an individual’s importance in facilitating communication and cohesion within the network. Heritability of betweenness centrality has been suggested in several species, however the genetic regulation of this property remains enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that the gene CG14109, referred to as degrees of kevin bacon (dokb), influences betweenness centrality in Drosophila melanogaster. We identify strain-specific alleles of dokb with distinct amino acid sequences and when the dokb allele is exchanged between strains, flies exhibit the betweenness centrality pattern dictated by the donor allele. By inserting a GAL4 reporter into the dokb locus, we confirm that dokb is expressed in the central nervous system. These findings define a novel genetic entry point to study social network structure and thereby establish gene-to-social structure relationships. While dokb sequence homology is exclusive to Diptera, we anticipate that dokb-associated molecular pathways could unveil convergent neural mechanisms of social behaviour that apply in diverse animal species.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47499-8

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