Key Invariants in the Evolution of Sociality Across Taxa.

Abstract

Elucidating the evolutionary origins of social behavior remains a major challenge due to the complexity of social systems across taxa. Here, we examine social behavior through the lens of competition and cooperation across the three domains of life-Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. By focusing on gene-based mechanisms, we propose that sociality arises from conserved molecular pathways shaped by similar selective pressures, even in phylogenetically distant organisms. This cross-domain perspective highlights the potential for convergent evolutionary solutions and offers a foundation for identifying invariant principles underlying the emergence and maintenance of social behavior.