The conundrum of the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) reproductive mode: no evidence for dependent lineage genetic caste determination

Gruber, Monica A. M.; Hoffmann, Benjamin D.; Ritchie, Peter A.; Lester, Philip J.

doi:10.1007/s00040-012-0277-z

Cited by 21 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…2 ), a pattern also found in several invasive species [ 49 ], suggesting that the two traits may be somehow transcriptionally correlated. This pattern appears to hold when considering the top invasive ant species selected by IUCN [ 50 ], and not present in our data set: Pheidole megacephala [ 51 ] and Wasmannia auropunctata [ 52 ] workers don’t have ovaries, whereas Anoplolepis gracilipes workers have ovaries [ 53 ], but don’t appear to reproduce (similarly to Lasius neglectus ) [ 54 ]. This raises the intriguing possibility that the evolution of some traits may be linked in unexpected ways though sharing the same regulatory machinery, and that selection for one trait may have the effect of facilitating the evolution of other traits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants

et al. 2016

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BackgroundReproductive division of labor in eusocial insects is a striking example of a shared genetic background giving rise to alternative phenotypes, namely queen and worker castes. Queen and worker phenotypes play major roles in the evolution of eusocial insects. Their behavior, morphology and physiology underpin many ecologically relevant colony-level traits, which evolved in parallel in multiple species.ResultsUsing queen and worker transcriptomic data from 16 ant species we tested the hypothesis that conserved sets of genes are involved in ant reproductive division of labor. We further hypothesized that such sets of genes should also be involved in the parallel evolution of other key traits. We applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis, which clusters co-expressed genes into modules, whose expression levels can be summarized by their ‘eigengenes’. Eigengenes of most modules were correlated with phenotypic differentiation between queens and workers. Furthermore, eigengenes of some modules were correlated with repeated evolution of key phenotypes such as complete worker sterility, the number of queens per colony, and even invasiveness. Finally, connectivity and expression levels of genes within the co-expressed network were strongly associated with the strength of selection. Although caste-associated sets of genes evolve faster than non-caste-associated, we found no evidence for queen- or worker-associated co-expressed genes evolving faster than one another.ConclusionsThese results identify conserved functionally important genomic units that likely serve as building blocks of phenotypic innovation, and allow the remarkable breadth of parallel evolution seen in ants, and possibly other eusocial insects as well.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-016-0902-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants

et al. 2016

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“…This analysis was specifically designed for SNPs, so each microsatellite allele at each locus was coded as zero, one (heterozygous) or two (homozygous), following the approach of Gruber et al . () and Wei et al . ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Emerging patterns of genetic variation in the New Zealand endemic scallop Pecten novaezelandiae

Silva

Gardner

2015

Molecular Ecology

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Both historical and contemporary processes influence the genetic structure of species, but the relative roles of such processes are still difficult to access. Population genetic studies of species with recent evolutionary histories such as the New Zealand endemic scallop Pecten novaezelandiae (<1 Ma) permit testing of the effects of recent processes affecting gene flow and shaping genetic structure. In addition, studies encompassing the entire distributional range of species can provide insight into colonization processes. Analyses of genetic variation in P. novaezelandiae (952 individuals from 14 locations, genotyped at 10 microsatellite loci) revealed a weak but significant regional structure across the distributional range of the species, as well as latitudinal gradients of genetic diversity and differentiation: estimates of migration rates supported these patterns. Our results suggest that the observed genetic structure and latitudinal gradients reflect a stepping-stone model of colonization (north to south) and emerging divergence of populations as a result of ongoing limitations to gene flow and insufficient time to reach migration-drift equilibrium. The low levels of interpopulation and interregional genetic differentiation detected over hundreds of kilometres reflect the recent evolutionary history of P. novaezelandiae and stand in contrast to patterns reported for other evolutionary older species at the same spatial scale. The outcomes of this study contribute to a better understanding of evolutionary processes influencing the genetic variation of species and provide vital information on the genetic structure of P. novaezelandiae.

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“…Given this timeline, it is surprising that stronger population structure does not exist in the non-native range. The yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes Smith, became structured and differentiated in its Australian exotic range within a matter of decades (Gruber et al, 2013). Reproductive biology may offer some insight into these differences.…”

Section: Invasion Biology Of Pavement Antsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Pavement to Population Genomics: Characterizing a Long-Established Non-native Ant in North America Through Citizen Science and ddRADseq

et al. 2019

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Clarifying the population structure and introduction history of non-native species is essential to preventing and mitigating effects of invasion, yet the invasion history of many long-established non-native species remain poorly understood. This study characterized the population structure of one of the most commonly encountered urban ants in North America using public participant-collected specimens and double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq). Based on this genomic approach we confirm the identity of populations ranging across the continent as Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, and report low genetic diversity across its range, suggesting that this entire population resulted from the establishment of one single, or a few closely related ant colonies, approximately 200 years ago. The absence of strong population structure suggests that this ant's spread across North America has been repeatedly aided by human-assisted dispersal. We find no evidence of inbreeding in T. immigrans; this contrasts with the inbreeding and unicoloniality of many other invasive ants. These results demonstrate how collections-based public participatory science and emerging highthroughput sequencing techniques each have the potential to vastly improve the amount of data available to researchers. Together, these techniques can be deployed to address ecological and evolutionary questions, including questions about invasion biology, in nonmodel organisms. We suggest that this model is particularly well-suited for research on common taxa that are ecologically important but poorly understood.

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The conundrum of the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) reproductive mode: no evidence for dependent lineage genetic caste determination

Cited by 21 publications

References 49 publications

Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants

Comparative transcriptomics reveals the conserved building blocks involved in parallel evolution of diverse phenotypic traits in ants

Emerging patterns of genetic variation in the New Zealand endemic scallop Pecten novaezelandiae

From Pavement to Population Genomics: Characterizing a Long-Established Non-native Ant in North America Through Citizen Science and ddRADseq

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