Dataset Information

Draft genome of the red harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus.

ABSTRACT: We report the draft genome sequence of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus. The genome was sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing, and the current assembly and annotation were completed in less than 1 y. Analyses of conserved gene groups (more than 1,200 manually annotated genes to date) suggest a high-quality assembly and annotation comparable to recently sequenced insect genomes using Sanger sequencing. The red harvester ant is a model for studying reproductive division of labor, phenotypic plasticity, and sociogenomics. Although the genome of P. barbatus is similar to other sequenced hymenopterans (Apis mellifera and Nasonia vitripennis) in GC content and compositional organization, and possesses a complete CpG methylation toolkit, its predicted genomic CpG content differs markedly from the other hymenopterans. Gene networks involved in generating key differences between the queen and worker castes (e.g., wings and ovaries) show signatures of increased methylation and suggest that ants and bees may have independently co-opted the same gene regulatory mechanisms for reproductive division of labor. Gene family expansions (e.g., 344 functional odorant receptors) and pseudogene accumulation in chemoreception and P450 genes compared with A. mellifera and N. vitripennis are consistent with major life-history changes during the adaptive radiation of Pogonomyrmex spp., perhaps in parallel with the development of the North American deserts.

SUBMITTER: Smith CR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3078412 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Draft genome of the red harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus.

Smith Chris R CR Smith Christopher D CD Robertson Hugh M HM Helmkampf Martin M Zimin Aleksey A Yandell Mark M Holt Carson C Hu Hao H Abouheif Ehab E Benton Richard R Cash Elizabeth E Croset Vincent V Currie Cameron R CR Elhaik Eran E Elsik Christine G CG Favé Marie-Julie MJ Fernandes Vilaiwan V Gibson Joshua D JD Graur Dan D Gronenberg Wulfila W Grubbs Kirk J KJ Hagen Darren E DE Viniegra Ana Sofia Ibarraran AS Johnson Brian R BR Johnson Reed M RM Khila Abderrahman A Kim Jay W JW Mathis Kaitlyn A KA Munoz-Torres Monica C MC Murphy Marguerite C MC Mustard Julie A JA Nakamura Rin R Niehuis Oliver O Nigam Surabhi S Overson Rick P RP Placek Jennifer E JE Rajakumar Rajendhran R Reese Justin T JT Suen Garret G Tao Shu S Torres Candice W CW Tsutsui Neil D ND Viljakainen Lumi L Wolschin Florian F Gadau Jürgen J

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110131 14

We report the draft genome sequence of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus. The genome was sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing, and the current assembly and annotation were completed in less than 1 y. Analyses of conserved gene groups (more than 1,200 manually annotated genes to date) suggest a high-quality assembly and annotation comparable to recently sequenced insect genomes using Sanger sequencing. The red harvester ant is a model for studying reproductive division of labor, phenotyp ...[more]

PMID: 21282651

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Project description:The reproductive ground plan hypothesis (RGPH) proposes that the physiological pathways regulating reproduction were co-opted to regulate worker division of labor. Support for this hypothesis in honeybees is provided by studies demonstrating that the reproductive potential of workers, assessed by the levels of vitellogenin (Vg), is linked to task performance. Interestingly, contrary to honeybees that have a single Vg ortholog and potentially fertile nurses, the genome of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus harbors two Vg genes (Pb_Vg1 and Pb_Vg2) and nurses produce infertile trophic eggs. P. barbatus, thus, provides a unique model to investigate whether Vg duplication in ants was followed by subfunctionalization to acquire reproductive and non-reproductive functions and whether Vg reproductive function was co-opted to regulate behavior in sterile workers. To investigate these questions, we compared the expression patterns of P. barbatus Vg genes and analyzed the phylogenetic relationships and molecular evolution of Vg genes in ants. qRT-PCRs revealed that Pb_Vg1 is more highly expressed in queens compared to workers and in nurses compared to foragers. By contrast, the level of expression of Pb_Vg2 was higher in foragers than in nurses and queens. Phylogenetic analyses show that a first duplication of the ancestral Vg gene occurred after the divergence between the poneroid and formicoid clades and subsequent duplications occurred in the lineages leading to Solenopsis invicta, Linepithema humile and Acromyrmex echinatior. The initial duplication resulted in two Vg gene subfamilies preferentially expressed in queens and nurses (subfamily A) or in foraging workers (subfamily B). Finally, molecular evolution analyses show that the subfamily A experienced positive selection, while the subfamily B showed overall relaxation of purifying selection. Our results suggest that in P. barbatus the Vg gene underwent subfunctionalization after duplication to acquire caste- and behavior- specific expression associated with reproductive and non-reproductive functions, supporting the validity of the RGPH in ants.

Dataset Information

Draft genome of the red harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus.

Publications

Draft genome of the red harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus.

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