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Liens UNIL 

Keller Group - Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology of Social Life The goal of our group is understand the principles governing the evolution of animal societies and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of social life. To study these questions we combine disciplines of animal behaviour, ecology, evolutionary genetics and genomics. Our current interests include:

Ageing in social insects

The evolution of eusociality has been associated with a 100-fold increase in insect lifespan. Aside from being exceptionally high, ant longevities greatly vary, both at intraspecific and interspecific levels. First, there is tremendous variation in life span between castes in ants, with queens living over 500 times longer than males and 50 times longer than sterile workers. Second, longevity greatly vary among ant species, from the Pharaoh ant queens that live 6 month to the queen of the black garden ant that can live 29 years. Because of this extreme variability in lifespan, ants constitute an ideal taxa to investigate the genetic causes of extreme longevities. We are using comparative genomics and transcriptomics between castes and species to study the evolution of ageing.

Genetic, ecological and molecular bases for variation in social systems

The number of queens within a social insect colony is an important trait in social evolution. Queen number can be highly variable both between and within species, and we are interested in how and why transitions in social structure occur. In collaboration with Dr. Kenneth Ross (University of Georgia), we have identified a gene (Gp-9) influencing social behaviour in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta.  We are currently quantifying the genetic variability of this gene as well as other closely linked genes using a genomic approach. We are also interested in the evolution and consequences of unicoloniality in the Argentine ant. This species has invaded the Mediterranean coast about 80 years ago and there is no aggression between workers from Spain, France and Italy.

Division of labour in insect societies

The major organising principle of social insect societies is division of labour, with one or a few individuals specializing in reproduction, and others participating in tasks such as nest-building, foraging, rearing young and defending the colony. This organisation provides numerous advantages and underpins the ecological success of social insects. While the dynamic allocation of workers to various tasks is a critical aspect affecting colony efficiency and fitness, little is known about the underlying principles. This is because it has been impossible to track large numbers of individuals continuously. We have developed a system based on fiducial identification labels and video tracking to automatically follow all individuals in a colony for extended periods. We will use this system to conduct the first thorough investigations of how environmental factors, social interactions and individual experiences affect the behavioural trajectories of workers. We will manipulate colonies of Camponotus fellah in several ways and track changes in task allocation and in the social network of the colony. We will also test the widely accepted assumption that division of labour increases the efficiency of individuals when they perform specialised tasks.

Causes and consequences of genetic caste determination

Extraordinary cases of genetic determination of reproductive caste have been found in several ants, including harvester ants and fire ants. In these systems, two separate genetic groups must interbreed to produce workers, but produce new reproductive queens only from within-group matings. We are investigating the evolutionary origins of this phenomenon, which appears to be derived from past interspecific hybridisation events, using various molecular genetic markers and the consequences on the biology of the species.

Biological invasions

Biological invasions are among the greatest drivers of species extinctions worldwide and can cause severe impairments of ecosystem services, imposing huge economic costs on society. Ants (Formicidae) are among the worst invasive species, with more than 200 species established outside their native range and 19 listed as highly problematic by the IUCN. We are interested in understanding the mechanisms and drivers of ant invasions at a broad spatial scale. We are developing an integrative framework for predicting invasions based on factors determining species invasiveness and community invasibility. The idea is to investigate the relative role of functional traits, socio-economic factors, propagule pressure, environmental conditions, and native biodiversity in determining introduction probability and establishment success in order to predict future invasions.

Expermental robotics

In collaboration with Prof. Dario Floreano at the EPFL (http://lis.epfl.ch/) we are investigating the role of relatedness (genetic similarity), levels of selection, and group size on the evolution of collective actions, communication and division of labour in artificial ant colonies. We are using colonies of artificial ants implemented as small mobile robots with simple vision and communication abilities. Selection experiments are done with the help of genetic algorithms. Publications  |  Masters and Phd thesis

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2018 | 2017 | ...
Molecular evolution of juvenile hormone esterase-like proteins in a socially exchanged fluid.
LeBoeuf A.C., Cohanim A.B., Stoffel C., Brent C.S., Waridel P., Privman E., Keller L., Benton R., 2018/12/13. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) p. 17830. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_C49E98634123]
Social regulation of insulin signaling and the evolution of eusociality in ants.
Chandra V., Fetter-Pruneda I., Oxley P.R., Ritger A.L., McKenzie S.K., Libbrecht R., Kronauer DJC, 2018/07/27. Science, 361 (6400) pp. 398-402. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_CDF17CA820DE] Bridgehead Effects and Role of Adaptive Evolution in Invasive Populations.
Bertelsmeier C., Keller L., 2018/07. Trends in ecology & evolution, 33 (7) pp. 527-534. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_63CCD9D93877] Selection for associative learning of color stimuli reveals correlated evolution of this learning ability across multiple stimuli and rewards.
Liefting M., Hoedjes K.M., Le Lann C., Smid H.M., Ellers J., 2018/05/16. Evolution; international journal of organic evolution pp. 1449-1459. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_9BA1B776FC9F] How complex should models be? Comparing correlative and mechanistic range dynamics models.
Fordham D.A., Bertelsmeier C., Brook B.W., Early R., Neto D., Brown S.C., Ollier S., Araújo M.B., 2018/03. Global change biology, 24 (3) pp. 1357-1370. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_77ECDD8EFD18]
Social polymorphism is favoured by the co-evolution of dispersal with social behaviour.
Mullon C., Keller L., Lehmann L., 2018/01. Nature ecology & evolution, 2 (1) pp. 132-140. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_860B7E502D1A]
Comment les fourmis ont colonisé la planète
bertelsmeier C., Keller L., Gordon E., 2018. La Recherche pp. 70-74. Recurrent bridgehead effects accelerate global alien ant spread.
Bertelsmeier C., Ollier S., Liebhold A.M., Brockerhoff E.G., Ward D., Keller L., 2018. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115 (21) pp. 5486-5491. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_F646D9E8DAF7] Forest Adaptation to Climate Change along Steep Ecological Gradients: The Case of the Mediterranean-Temperate Transition in South-Western Europe
Fernández-Manjarrés J., Ruiz-Benito P., Zavala M., Camarero J., Pulido F., Proença V., Navarro L., Sansilvestri R., Granda E., Marqués L. et al., 2018. Sustainability, 10 (9) p. 3065.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [serval:BIB_7B3716F415DE]
Caste ratio adjustments in response to perceived and realised competition in parasites with division of labour.
Lagrue C., MacLeod C.D., Keller L., Poulin R., 2018. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 87 (5) pp. 1429-1439. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_92EA64B890A6]
Elevated expression of ageing and immunity genes in queens of the black garden ant.
Lucas E.R., Keller L., 2018. Experimental Gerontology, 108 pp. 92-98. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_6E333238072E] New explanation for the longevity of social insect reproductives: Transposable element activity.
Lucas E.R., Keller L., 2018. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115 (21) pp. 5317-5318. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_AF079F331824]
Positive selection on sociobiological traits in invasive fire ants.
Privman E., Cohen P., Cohanim A.B., Riba-Grognuz O., Shoemaker D., Keller L., 2018. Molecular Ecology, 27 (15) pp. 3116-3130. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_202D1AC11691] The influence of the few: a stable 'oligarchy' controls information flow in house-hunting ants.
Richardson T.O., Mullon C., Marshall JAR, Franks N.R., Schlegel T., 2018. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Biological sciences, 285 (1872) p. 20172726. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_4E2847D3C9AB] Phylogenomics of palearctic Formica species suggests a single origin of temporary parasitism and gives insights to the evolutionary pathway toward slave-making behaviour.
Romiguier J., Rolland J., Morandin C., Keller L., 2018. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 18 (1) p. 40. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_CD99EF06FCA7] The evolution of intraspecific variation in social organization
Schradin C., Hayes L.D., Pillay N., Bertelsmeier C., 2018. Ethology, 124 (8) pp. 527-536. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [serval:BIB_8F2EC7FAFF76] Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect.
Stroeymeyt N., Grasse A.V., Crespi A., Mersch D.P., Cremer S., Keller L., 2018. Science, 362 (6417) pp. 941-945. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_E9228C205467]
Low number of fixed somatic mutations in a long-lived oak tree.
Schmid-Siegert E., Sarkar N., Iseli C., Calderon S., Gouhier-Darimont C., Chrast J., Cattaneo P., Schütz F., Farinelli L., Pagni M. et al., 2017/12. Nature plants, 3 (12) pp. 926-929. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_66296D0251EE]
Genetics and Evolution of Social Behavior in Insects.
Weitekamp C.A., Libbrecht R., Keller L., 2017/11/27. Annual review of genetics, 51 pp. 219-239. Peer-reviewed.
[URN] [DOI] [WoS] [Pmid] [serval:BIB_FBAF461BD14A]
Measuring site fidelity and spatial segregation within animal societies
Richardson T.O., Giuggioli L., Franks N.R., Sendova-Franks A.B., 2017/08. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8 (8) pp. 965-975. Peer-reviewed.
[DOI] [WoS] [serval:BIB_211DFB5BE3C9]

Phd thesis

Publications (15)

Statistics and dynamics of interaction networks and division of labor in ants
BRAUNSCHWEIG Raphaël, 2018., Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller Laurent (dir.).
The adaptive significance of communication and learning in bees
I'ANSON PRICE Robert, 2018., Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller Laurent (dir.).
YAN Zheng, 2018., Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, KELLER Laurent (dir.).
Genomics of social organization and behavior in Solenopsis invicta
Riba-Grognuz Oksana , 2016., Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller Laurent (dir.). Social Dynamics in Paper Wasps: The case of nest-drifting in Polistes canadensis
Lengronne T., 2013/12., Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
[URN] [serval:BIB_4AB9433D97B0]
Single loci with major effects in fire ants : the effects of the complementary sex-determining locus and the green beard supergene on gene expression
Nipitwattanaphon M., 2012. 146, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
Role of genetic and social factors in modulating the efficiency of division of labour in social insects
Tarapore D., 2009. 91, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
Sociogenetics of fire ants
Wurm Y., 2009. 121, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
The evolution of unicoloniality in ant societies : recognition, dispersal and population genetic structure
Holzer B., 2008. 101, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Chapuisat M. (dir.).
Population genetic structure in the native and introduced range of the Argentine ant/
Vogel V., 2008. 134, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
Evolution, maintenance and ecological consequences of genetic caste determination in " Pogonomyrmex " harvester ants
Schwander T., 2007. 141, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
Studying the molecular causes of ageing in ants
Jemielity S., 2006. 106, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
When several queens reign: how polygyny affects social life in ants
Kümmerli R., 2006. 153, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Keller L. (dir.).
Impact of social structure variation on population genetics, social conflicts and life histories in ants
Rosset H., 2006. 94, Université de Lausanne, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Chapuisat M. (dir.). Conflict and co-operation in ant societies
Reuter M., 2002., Université de Lausanne, Faculté des sciences, Keller L. (dir.).
[URN] [serval:BIB_R_497]

Group members

Group Leader




Guests & Trainees

Former Group Members



Période sabbatique



To apply for a PhD position or a Postdoc or in the lab, the standard procedure is as follows.

Funding: Members of our groups are funded from different sources, including fellowships from our University, Swiss NSF, Marie Curie, EU network of excellent, EMBO, and various specific grants Laurent Keller
Office room: 3121
Phone: +41(0)21 692 41 73
Fax: +41(0)21 692 41 65

Comment c’est de faire un postdoc sur les fourmis avec Laurent Keller: génial !!!! ;-)