Dataset Information

Molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological reassessments of thief ants identify a new potential case of biological invasions.

ABSTRACT: Species delimitation offered by DNA-based approaches can provide important insights into the natural history and diversity of species, but the cogency of such processes is limited without multigene phylogenies. Recent attempts to barcode various Solenopsidini ant taxa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), including the thief ant Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011 described from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), were precipitated by the unexpected existence of a closely related species, the Nearctic S. abdita Thompson, 1989 within the S. molesta species complex native to Florida. This finding left the species status of the former uncertain. Here, we investigated the taxonomy and phylogeny of these two species to determine whether or not S. abdita represents a new global tramp species. We inferred a phylogeny of the two species using DNA sequence data from four nuclear genes (Abd-A, EF1?-F1, EF1?-F2, and Wingless) and one mitochondrial gene (COI) sampled from populations in Florida, Guatemala, Hawaii, and Saudi Arabia. Both species clustered into one distinct and robust clade. The taxonomy of S. saudiensis was re-examined using morphometrics. A reassessment of the morphological characters used to diagnose the worker and queen castes were consistent with molecular evidence. Based on combined morphological and molecular evidences S. saudiensis is declared as a junior synonym of S. abdita (syn. nov.). In addition, our findings indicate that S. abdita is a novel global tramp species which has a far wider distribution than previously thought and has established itself in many new habitats and different geographic realms.

SUBMITTER: Sharaf MR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7374620 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological reassessments of thief ants identify a new potential case of biological invasions.

Sharaf Mostafa R MR Gotzek Dietrich D Guénard Benoit B Fisher Brian L BL Aldawood Abdulrahman S AS Al Dhafer Hathal M HM Mohamed Amr A AA

Scientific reports 20200721 1

Species delimitation offered by DNA-based approaches can provide important insights into the natural history and diversity of species, but the cogency of such processes is limited without multigene phylogenies. Recent attempts to barcode various Solenopsidini ant taxa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), including the thief ant Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011 described from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), were precipitated by the unexpected existence of a closely related speci ...[more]

PMID: 32694527

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe early stages of biological invasions are rarely observed, but can provide significant insight into the invasion process as well as the influence vectors have on invasion success or failure.Methodology/principal findingsWe characterized three newly discovered populations of an introduced gastropod, Littorina littorea (Linné, 1758), in California, USA, comparing them to potential source populations in native Europe and the North American East Coast, where the snail is also introduced. Demographic surveys were used to assess spatial distribution and sizes of the snail in San Francisco and Anaheim Bays, California. Mitochondrial DNA was sequenced and compared among these nascent populations, and various populations from the North American East Coast and Europe, to characterize the California populations and ascertain their likely source. Demographic and genetic data were considered together to deduce likely vectors for the California populations. We found that the three large California L. littorea populations contained only adult snails and had unexpectedly high genetic diversity rather than showing an extreme bottleneck as typically expected in recent introductions. Haplotype diversity in Californian populations was significantly reduced compared to European populations, but not compared to East Coast populations. Genetic analyses clearly suggested the East Coast as the source region for the California introductions.Conclusions and significanceThe California L. littorea populations were at an early, non-established phase of invasion with no evidence of recruitment. The live seafood trade is the most likely invasion vector for these populations, as it preferentially transports large numbers of adult L. littorea, matching the demographic structure of the introduced California L. littorea populations. Our results highlight continued operation of live seafood trade vectors and the influence of vectors on the demographic and genetic structure of the resulting populations, especially early stages of the invasion process.

Dataset Information

Molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological reassessments of thief ants identify a new potential case of biological invasions.

Publications

Molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological reassessments of thief ants identify a new potential case of biological invasions.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure