Social status, social bonds, and gene expression in wild baboons

An individual's social status relative to, as well as the strength of their social bonds with, conspecifics often predicts fitness outcomes in social animals. To better understand how each of these social factors might influence fitness outcomes we investigated the gene regulatory signatures of social status and social bond strength in a population of wild baboons. Characterizing these signatures may provide insight into how the long-term health and fitness consequences of variation in the social environment emerge, including in humans where social isolation and chronic social subordination can have lasting, negative effects on health.