Ant phylogenomics reveals a natural selection hotspot preceding the origin of complex eusociality

Romiguier Jonathan, Borowiec Marek L., Weyna Arthur, Helleu Quentin, Loire Etienne, La Mendola Christine, Rabeling Christian, Fisher Brian L., Ward Philip S., Keller Laurent. 2022. Ant phylogenomics reveals a natural selection hotspot preceding the origin of complex eusociality. Current Biology, 32 (13) : 2942-2947.

Url - jeu de données - Entrepôt autre : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5705739

Liste HCERES des revues (en SHS) : oui

Thème(s) HCERES des revues (en SHS) : Anthropologie-Ethnologie; Psychologie-éthologie-ergonomie

Résumé : The evolution of eusociality has allowed ants to become one of the most conspicuous and ecologically dominant groups of organisms in the world. A large majority of the current ∼14,000 ant species belong to the formicoids,1 a clade of nine subfamilies that exhibit the most extreme forms of reproductive division of labor, large colony size,2 worker polymorphism,3 and extended queen longevity.4 The eight remaining non-formicoid subfamilies are less well studied, with few genomes having been sequenced so far and unclear phylogenetic relationships.5 By sequencing 65 genomes, we provide a robust phylogeny of the 17 ant subfamilies, retrieving high support to the controversial leptanillomorph clade (Leptanillinae and Martialinae) as the sister group to all other extant ants. Moreover, our genomic analyses revealed that the emergence of the formicoids was accompanied by an elevated number of positive selection events. Importantly, the top three gene functions under selection are linked to key features of complex eusociality, with histone acetylation being implicated in caste differentiation, gene silencing by RNA in worker sterility, and autophagy in longevity. These results show that the key pathways associated with eusociality have been under strong selection during the Cretaceous, suggesting that the molecular foundations of complex eusociality may have evolved rapidly in less than 20 Ma.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : phylogénie, évolution, génome, Formicidae, Dorylus, Crétacé, sélection

Mots-clés libres : Ant, Complex eusociality, Phylogenomics, Leptanillomorphs, Natural selection, Formicoid

Auteurs et affiliations

• Romiguier Jonathan, UM2 (FRA) - auteur correspondant
• Borowiec Marek L., University of Idaho (USA)
• Weyna Arthur, ISEM (FRA)
• Helleu Quentin, UNIL (CHE)
• Loire Etienne, CIRAD-BIOS-UMR ASTRE (FRA)
• La Mendola Christine, UNIL (CHE)
• Rabeling Christian, Arizona State University (USA)
• Fisher Brian L., California Academy of Sciences (USA)
• Ward Philip S., UC (USA)
• Keller Laurent, UNIL (CHE)

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/606415/)

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