REVIEWS

Life on Earth has undergone several transitions during its history, from the evolution of cells, to multicellular organisms, and then to the organization of these organ-isms into SOCIETIES1. There has been notable progress in elucidating the molecular basis of cellular function and development, and there is now a burgeoning interest in doing the same for social life (‘sociogenomics’). The goal of sociogenomics is to achieve a comprehensive under-standing of social life in molecular terms: how it evolved, how it is governed and how it influences all aspects of genome structure, genome activity and organismal function2–4. Which genes and pathways regulate those aspects of development, physiology and behaviour that influence sociality, and how are they themselves influ-enced by social life and social evolution? Significan