H2020Индивидуална стипендия2018–2019

MELCA · Molecular evolution in the double-clonal longhorn crazy ant

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2018-01-01 → 2019-12-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 175 420 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Накратко на български

Генетичната еволюция при мравките от вида Paratrechina longicornis се изучава чрез техния необичаен начин на размножаване, при който работниците са хибриди, а кралиците и мъжките са клонинги. Това помага да се разбере как подобни системи улесняват разпространението на инвазивните видове.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Molecular evolution in the double-clonal longhorn crazy ant

"Sex is a ubiquitous phenomenon where the reshuffling and mixing of two genomes give rise to the genetic makeup of the next generation, a process that generates novel combinations of alleles and that is central to understanding evolution. Unusual genetic systems involving mating between partners from different lineages or species have evolved multiple times in the animal kingdom. Such systems have recently been reported in several ant genera. Ants, as other Hymenoptera, are haplo-diploid. Males are haploid and develop from unfertilized eggs, whereas queen and worker females are diploid and typically develop from fertilized eggs. ""Double-clonality"" represents a peculiar deviation from this canonical system. Under this system, all workers in the colony are hybrids but reproductive individuals are not. Workers are produced by sexual reproduction, while new reproductive queens are clones of their mother and males are clones of their father. The queen and male genomes therefore evolve as separate non-recombining entities, which only interbreed to produce sterile first-generation hybrid workers. Double-clonality has been reported in four invasive species to date, namely Wasmannia auropunctata, Vollenhovia emeryi, Paratrechina longicornis and Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi and may be discovered in many additional species in the future. No theory has been formulated on genome evolution in the context of these bizarre genetic systems and empirical data are still scarce. Beyond fundamental research, having genomic resources from different localities across the invasive ranges of this widespread species can help understand how this unique reproductive system could have facilitated the spread of these species. The longhorn crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis is a common pest and one of the most broadly dispersed ants in the world. Recent research showed that colonies from Thailand display a double-clonal mating system. The objective of the H2020 MELCA action was to investigate the consequence of “double clonal” reproduction on genome evolution in Paratrechina longicornis. Our work provides genetic resources from several invasive populations and revealed further details on how the double-clonal reproductive system operates in this species, laying a solid foundation for understanding the interplay between molecular evolution of the genome and mode of sexual reproduction."

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

The divergent selective pressures experienced by females and males often lead to the evolution of dramatic morphological, physiological and behavioural differences. Social insects hold a special place for understanding the evolution of phenotypic differences, because one sex at least is subdivided into morphologically distinct reproductive and non-reproductive (worker) castes. This research program will investigate the molecular mechanisms governing the evolution of sex (male vs female) and caste (queen vs worker) differences by studying the remarkable longhorn crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis. This species has evolved an unusual genetic system, whereby queen, male and worker phenotypes do not only result from gene expression differences, but also possess different genetic makeups. Under this system, the genomes of queens and males no longer recombine and evolve as separate entities similar to sex chromosomes. Queens are clones of their mother, males are clones of their father, and sterile workers are produced sexually through the union of queen and male genomes. The MELCA project proposes to take advantage of this double-clonal system to study how selection shapes the evolution and expression of genes involved in phenotypic differences. We will sequence the genomes and transcriptomes of double-clonal queens, males, and workers, and link patterns of gene expression with changes in rates of molecular evolution to test predictions regarding the nature of selection acting on genes involved in sex and caste differences. First, we will investigate the effects of the double-clonal system on patterns of sex-biased and allele-biased gene expression. Second, we will determine if this system leads to differences in rate of evolution for genes with sex or caste functions.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE · LAUSANNEКоординаторШвейцария