1
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Darras H, Berney C, Hasin S, Drescher J, Feldhaar H, Keller L. Obligate chimerism in male yellow crazy ants. Science 2023; 380:55-58. [PMID: 37023182 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf0419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Multicellular organisms typically develop from a single fertilized egg and therefore consist of clonal cells. We report an extraordinary reproductive system in the yellow crazy ant. Males are chimeras of haploid cells from two divergent lineages: R and W. R cells are overrepresented in the males' somatic tissues, whereas W cells are overrepresented in their sperm. Chimerism occurs when parental nuclei bypass syngamy and divide separately within the same egg. When syngamy takes place, the diploid offspring either develops into a queen when the oocyte is fertilized by an R sperm or into a worker when fertilized by a W sperm. This study reveals a mode of reproduction that may be associated with a conflict between lineages to preferentially enter the germ line.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Darras
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - C Berney
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - S Hasin
- Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - J Drescher
- Department of Animal Ecology, Göttingen University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - H Feldhaar
- Department of Animal Ecology, Göttingen University, Göttingen, Germany
- Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - L Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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2
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Kronauer DJC. The unusual genetics of invasive ants. Science 2023; 380:33-34. [PMID: 37023202 DOI: 10.1126/science.adh1664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
The males of an invasive ant species are chimeras of two distinct genetic lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA
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3
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da Silva J. The kin selection theory of genomic imprinting and modes of reproduction in the eusocial Hymenoptera. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:677-695. [PMID: 36457233 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Genomic imprinting is known from flowering plants and mammals but has not been confirmed for the Hymenoptera even though the eusocial Hymenoptera are prime candidates for this peculiar form of gene expression. Here, the kin selection theory of genomic imprinting is reviewed and applied to the eusocial Hymenoptera. The evidence for imprinting in eusocial Hymenoptera with the typical mode of reproduction, involving the sexual production of diploid female offspring, which develop into workers or gynes, and the arrhenotokous parthenogenesis of haploid males, is also reviewed briefly. However, the focus of this review is how atypical modes of reproduction, involving thelytokous parthenogenesis, hybridisation and androgenesis, may also select for imprinting. In particular, naturally occurring hybridisation in several genera of ants may provide useful tests of the role of kin selection in the evolution of imprinting. Hybridisation is expected to disrupt the coadaptation of antagonistically imprinted loci, and thus affect the phenotypes of hybrids. Some of the limited data available on hybrid worker reproduction and on colony sex ratios support predictions about patterns of imprinting derived from kin selection theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack da Silva
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
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4
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Tseng SP, Darras H, Hsu PW, Yoshimura T, Lee CY, Wetterer JK, Keller L, Yang CCS. Genetic analysis reveals the putative native range and widespread double-clonal reproduction in the invasive longhorn crazy ant. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:1020-1033. [PMID: 36527320 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Clonal reproduction can provide an advantage for invasive species to establish as it can circumvent inbreeding depression which often plagues introduced populations. The world's most widespread invasive ant, Paratrechina longicornis, was previously found to display a double-clonal reproduction system, whereby both males and queens are produced clonally, resulting in separate male and queen lineages, while workers are produced sexually. Under this unusual reproduction mode, inbreeding is avoided in workers as they carry hybrid interlineage genomes. Despite the ubiquitous distribution of P. longicornis, the significance of this reproductive system for the ant's remarkable success remains unclear, as its prevalence is still unknown. Further investigation into the controversial native origin of P. longicornis is also required to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of double-clonal lineages. Here, we examine genetic variation and characterize the reproduction mode of P. longicornis populations sampled worldwide using microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequences to infer the ant's putative native range and the distribution of the double-clonal reproductive system. Analyses of global genetic variations indicate that the Indian subcontinent is a genetic diversity hotspot of this species, suggesting that P. longicornis probably originates from this geographical area. Our analyses revealed that both the inferred native and introduced populations exhibit double-clonal reproduction, with queens and males around the globe belonging to two separate, nonrecombining clonal lineages. By contrast, workers are highly heterozygous because they are first-generation interlineage hybrids. Overall, these data indicate a worldwide prevalence of double clonality in P. longicornis and support the prediction that the unusual genetic system may have pre-adapted this ant for global colonization by maintaining heterozygosity in the worker force and alleviating genetic bottlenecks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Ping Tseng
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA.,Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hugo Darras
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Po-Wei Hsu
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Yoshimura
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Chow-Yang Lee
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - James K Wetterer
- Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA
| | - Laurent Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Chin-Cheng Scotty Yang
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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5
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Cahan SH, Nguyen AD, Zhou Y. Population genomics supports multiple hybrid zone origins of socially hybridogenetic lineages of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Evolution 2022; 76:1016-1032. [PMID: 35365873 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Reproductive division of labor in the social insects is typically determined by environmental cues; however, genetic effects on caste have been discovered in a growing set of ant taxa. An extreme form of genetic caste determination is "social hybridogenesis," in which co-occurring genetic lineages obligately interbreed to produce workers, whereas daughter queens are of pure-lineage ancestry. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that social hybridogenesis in the genus Pogonomyrmex resulted from one or more interspecific hybridization events, and if so, whether individual lineages were of hybrid ancestry. We reconstructed evolutionary relationships of four lineage pairs to populations of two closely related non-hybridogenetic species, Pogonomyrmex barbatus and Pogonomyrmex rugosus, using nuclear SNP loci and mitochondrial sequencing. The nuclear phylogeny supported a hybridization hypothesis, with one member of each pair nested within P. rugosus, whereas the other was nested within P. barbatus. The source populations corresponded with two distinct geographic areas at the eastern and western edges of a zone of contact. Relatively little gene flow was detected between interbreeding lineages, either historically or currently. This suggests that shifts in reproductive caste determination may reinforce reproductive incompatibility, in a manner similar to the evolution of hybridogenesis in nonsocial systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Helms Cahan
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 05405
| | - Andrew D Nguyen
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 05405
| | - Yihong Zhou
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 05405
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6
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Weyna A, Bourouina L, Galtier N, Romiguier J. Detection of F1 hybrids from single-genome data reveals frequent hybridization in Hymenoptera and particularly ants. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6562163. [PMID: 35363317 PMCID: PMC9021736 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Hybridization occupies a central role in many fundamental evolutionary processes, such as speciation or adaptation. Yet, despite its pivotal importance in evolution, little is known about the actual prevalence and distribution of current hybridization across the tree of life. Here we develop and implement a new statistical method enabling the detection of F1 hybrids from single-individual genome sequencing data. Using simulations and sequencing data from known hybrid systems, we first demonstrate the specificity of the method, and identify its statistical limits. Next, we showcase the method by applying it to available sequencing data from more than 1,500 species of Arthropods, including Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Archnida. Among these taxa, we find Hymenoptera, and especially ants, to display the highest number of candidate F1 hybrids, suggesting higher rates of recent hybridization between previously isolated gene pools in these groups. The prevalence of F1 hybrids was heterogeneously distributed across ants, with taxa including many candidates tending to harbor specific ecological and life-history traits. This work shows how large-scale genomic comparative studies of recent hybridization can be implemented, uncovering the determinants of first-generation hybridization across whole taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Weyna
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554), University of Montpellier, CNRS
| | - Lucille Bourouina
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554), University of Montpellier, CNRS
| | - Nicolas Galtier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554), University of Montpellier, CNRS
| | - Jonathan Romiguier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554), University of Montpellier, CNRS
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7
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Weyna A, Romiguier J, Mullon C. Hybridization enables the fixation of selfish queen genotypes in eusocial colonies. Evol Lett 2021; 5:582-594. [PMID: 34917398 PMCID: PMC8645202 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A eusocial colony typically consists of two main castes: queens that reproduce and sterile workers that help them. This division of labor, however, is vulnerable to genetic elements that favor the development of their carriers into queens. Several factors, such as intracolonial relatedness, can modulate the spread of such caste‐biasing genotypes. Here we investigate the effects of a notable yet understudied ecological setting: where larvae produced by hybridization develop into sterile workers. Using mathematical modeling, we show that the coevolution of hybridization with caste determination readily triggers an evolutionary arms race between nonhybrid larvae that increasingly develop into queens, and queens that increasingly hybridize to produce workers. Even where hybridization reduces worker function and colony fitness, this race can lead to the loss of developmental plasticity and to genetically hard‐wired caste determination. Overall, our results may help understand the repeated evolution toward remarkable reproductive systems (e.g., social hybridogenesis) observed in several ant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Weyna
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554) University of Montpellier, CNRS Montpellier 34000 France
| | - Jonathan Romiguier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554) University of Montpellier, CNRS Montpellier 34000 France
| | - Charles Mullon
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
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8
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Kulmuni J, Nouhaud P, Pluckrose L, Satokangas I, Dhaygude K, Butlin RK. Instability of natural selection at candidate barrier loci underlying speciation in wood ants. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:3988-3999. [PMID: 32854139 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Speciation underlies the generation of novel biodiversity. Yet, there is much to learn about how natural selection shapes genomes during speciation. Selection is assumed to act against gene flow at barrier loci, promoting reproductive isolation. However, evidence for gene flow and selection is often indirect and we know very little about the temporal stability of barrier loci. Here we utilize haplodiploidy to identify candidate male barrier loci in hybrids between two wood ant species. As ant males are haploid, they are expected to reveal recessive barrier loci, which can be masked in diploid females if heterozygous. We then test for barrier stability in a sample collected 10 years later and use survival analysis to provide a direct measure of natural selection acting on candidate male barrier loci. We find multiple candidate male barrier loci scattered throughout the genome. Surprisingly, a proportion of them are not stable after 10 years, natural selection apparently switching from acting against to favouring introgression in the later sample. Instability of the barrier effect and natural selection for introgressed alleles could be due to environment-dependent selection, emphasizing the need to consider temporal variation in the strength of natural selection and the stability of the barrier effect at putative barrier loci in future speciation work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonna Kulmuni
- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hanko, Finland
| | - Pierre Nouhaud
- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lucy Pluckrose
- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ina Satokangas
- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kishor Dhaygude
- Organismal & Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Roger K Butlin
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Alfred Denny Building, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Department of Marine Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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9
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Kuhn A, Darras H, Paknia O, Aron S. Repeated evolution of queen parthenogenesis and social hybridogenesis in
Cataglyphis
desert ants. Mol Ecol 2019; 29:549-564. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Kuhn
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Hugo Darras
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
- Department of Ecology and Evolution Biophore UNIL Sorge University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Omid Paknia
- ITZ, Ecology and Evolution TiHo Hannover Hannover Germany
| | - Serge Aron
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
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10
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Darras H, Kuhn A, Aron S. Evolution of hybridogenetic lineages in
Cataglyphis
ants. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:3073-3088. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Darras
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
- Department of Ecology and Evolution Université de Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Kuhn
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Serge Aron
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
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11
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Lacy KD, Shoemaker D, Ross KG. Joint Evolution of Asexuality and Queen Number in an Ant. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1394-1400.e4. [PMID: 30982653 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ants exhibit a striking diversity of reproductive systems, varying in traits such as the number of reproductives per colony [1], the mode of daughter production (sexual or asexual) [2], and the mode of caste determination (genetic or environmental) [3]. Species employing mixed reproductive systems present a unique opportunity to explore the causes and consequences of alternative breeding strategies. Mixed reproductive systems in ants include social polymorphism in colony queen number, whereby single-queen (monogyne) and multiple-queen (polygyne) colonies co-occur within species [4-7], and facultative asexuality, in which female offspring may be produced sexually or asexually within colonies [8-13]. Here, we document a remarkable confluence of multiple mixed reproductive systems in the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata, in a population with three important features: (1) polygyne colonies produce workers sexually but queens asexually, whereas monogyne colonies produce both castes sexually; (2) polygyne queens mate with monogyne males to produce workers, but monogyne queens do not mate with polygyne males; and (3) different asexual/polygyne lineages evidently were founded separately by genetically distinct founder queens, which appear to have originated from the same neighboring monogyne population. Multiple asexual/polygyne genomes are transmitted undiluted in this system, but sterile workers produced with sperm from a sexually-reproducing/monogyne population are necessary for the persistence of these lineages. The intersection of social polymorphism, facultative asexuality, and genetic caste determination marks this population of S. geminata as an embodiment of the diversity of ant reproductive systems and suggests previously unknown connections between these phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kip D Lacy
- University of Georgia, Department of Entomology, 413 Biological Sciences Building, 120 Cedar Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
| | - DeWayne Shoemaker
- University of Tennessee Knoxville, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, 371 Plant Biotechnology Building, 2505 EJ Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4560, USA
| | - Kenneth G Ross
- University of Georgia, Department of Entomology, 413 Biological Sciences Building, 120 Cedar Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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12
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Galtier N, Roux C, Rousselle M, Romiguier J, Figuet E, Glémin S, Bierne N, Duret L. Codon Usage Bias in Animals: Disentangling the Effects of Natural Selection, Effective Population Size, and GC-Biased Gene Conversion. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:1092-1103. [PMID: 29390090 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Selection on codon usage bias is well documented in a number of microorganisms. Whether codon usage is also generally shaped by natural selection in large organisms, despite their relatively small effective population size (Ne), is unclear. In animals, the population genetics of codon usage bias has only been studied in a handful of model organisms so far, and can be affected by confounding, nonadaptive processes such as GC-biased gene conversion and experimental artefacts. Using population transcriptomics data, we analyzed the relationship between codon usage, gene expression, allele frequency distribution, and recombination rate in 30 nonmodel species of animals, each from a different family, covering a wide range of effective population sizes. We disentangled the effects of translational selection and GC-biased gene conversion on codon usage by separately analyzing GC-conservative and GC-changing mutations. We report evidence for effective translational selection on codon usage in large-Ne species of animals, but not in small-Ne ones, in agreement with the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution. C- and T-ending codons tend to be preferred over synonymous G- and A-ending ones, for reasons that remain to be determined. In contrast, we uncovered a conspicuous effect of GC-biased gene conversion, which is widespread in animals and the main force determining the fate of AT↔GC mutations. Intriguingly, the strength of its effect was uncorrelated with Ne.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Galtier
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Camille Roux
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, CNRS, Université de Lille-Sciences et Technologies, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
| | - Marjolaine Rousselle
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Jonathan Romiguier
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Emeric Figuet
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Sylvain Glémin
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France.,Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nicolas Bierne
- UMR5554, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, University Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Laurent Duret
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR 5558, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
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13
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Butler IA, Peters MK, Kronauer DJC. Low levels of hybridization in two species of African driver ants. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:556-571. [PMID: 29380454 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Hybridization in ants can have consequences different from those observed in most other species, with many of the potential deleterious effects being mitigated due to haplodiploidy and eusociality. In some species where colonies are either headed by multiple queens or single queens that mate with many males, hybridization is associated with genetic caste determination, where hybrids develop into workers and purebred individuals develop into queens. A previous study suggested that hybridization occurs between two Dorylus army ant species with multiply mated queens. However, the extent and exact pattern of hybridization have remained unclear, and its possible effect on caste determination has not been investigated. In this study, we aimed to determine the extent and direction of hybridization by measuring how frequently hybrids occur in colonies of both species, and to investigate the possibility of genetic caste determination. We show that hybridization is bidirectional and occurs at equal rates in both species. Hybrid workers make up only 1-2% of the population, and successful interspecific matings represent approximately 2% of all matings in both species. This shows that, although interspecific matings that give rise to worker offspring occur regularly, they are much rarer than intraspecific mating. Finally, we find no evidence of an association between hybridization and genetic caste determination in this population. This means that genetic caste determination is not a necessary outcome of hybridization in ants, even in species where queens mate with multiple males.
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Affiliation(s)
- I A Butler
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - M K Peters
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - D J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
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14
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Kuhn A, Bauman D, Darras H, Aron S. Sex-biased dispersal creates spatial genetic structure in a parthenogenetic ant with a dependent-lineage reproductive system. Heredity (Edinb) 2017. [PMID: 28635968 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2017.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Reproduction and dispersal are key aspects of species life history that influence spatial genetic structure in populations. Several ant species in the genus Cataglyphis have evolved a unique breeding system in which new reproductives (that is, queens and males) are produced asexually by parthenogenesis; in contrast, non-reproductives (that is, workers) are produced via sexual reproduction by mates from distinct genetic lineages. We investigated how these two coexisting reproductive methods affect population-level spatial genetic structure using the ant Cataglyphis mauritanica as a model. We obtained genotypes for queens and their male mates from 338 colonies, and we found that the two lineages present in the study population occurred with equal frequency. Furthermore, analysis of spatial genetic structure revealed strong sex-biased dispersal. Because queens were produced by parthenogenesis and because they dispersed over short distances, there was an extreme level of spatial structuring: a mosaic of patches composed of clonal queens was formed. Males, on the other hand, dispersed over several hundred metres and, thus, across patches, ensuring successful interlineage mating.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Kuhn
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - D Bauman
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Végétale et Biogéochimie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - H Darras
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - S Aron
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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15
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Patterns of cross-contamination in a multispecies population genomic project: detection, quantification, impact, and solutions. BMC Biol 2017; 15:25. [PMID: 28356154 PMCID: PMC5370491 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-017-0366-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Contamination is a well-known but often neglected problem in molecular biology. Here, we investigated the prevalence of cross-contamination among 446 samples from 116 distinct species of animals, which were processed in the same laboratory and subjected to subcontracted transcriptome sequencing. Results Using cytochrome oxidase 1 as a barcode, we identified a minimum of 782 events of between-species contamination, with approximately 80% of our samples being affected. An analysis of laboratory metadata revealed a strong effect of the sequencing center: nearly all the detected events of between-species contamination involved species that were sent the same day to the same company. We introduce new methods to address the amount of within-species, between-individual contamination, and to correct for this problem when calling genotypes from base read counts. Conclusions We report evidence for pervasive within-species contamination in this data set, and show that classical population genomic statistics, such as synonymous diversity, the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous diversity, inbreeding coefficient FIT, and Tajima’s D, are sensitive to this problem to various extents. Control analyses suggest that our published results are probably robust to the problem of contamination. Recommendations on how to prevent or avoid contamination in large-scale population genomics/molecular ecology are provided based on this analysis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0366-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Gordon DM, Friedman DA. Two lineages that need each other. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:975-976. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D. M. Gordon
- Department of Biology; Stanford University; Stanford CA USA
| | - D. A. Friedman
- Department of Biology; Stanford University; Stanford CA USA
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