Souza Ana L B, Tavares Mara G, Serrão José E, Delabie Jacques H C
Department Ciências Biológicas, Univ. Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Jequié, BA, 45206-190.
Neotrop Entomol. 2009 May-Jun;38(3):376-83. doi: 10.1590/s1519-566x2009000300013.
Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) and Wasmannia rochai Forel are economically important ants in the Southeast and Southwest regions of Bahia State, Brazil. Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to distinguish and analyze the genetic variability of populations of both species from Ilhéus, Jequié, BA and French Guyana. The genetic distances among W. auropunctata and W.rochai populations (55.8-71.4%) suggest genetic differentiation among them. Wasmannia auropunctata populations from sugarcane and banana plantations in Jequié were the most distant genetically (30.1-46.3%) and may represent populations restricted to isolated fragments. The high genetic distances among W. auropunctata populations from CEPLAC experimental areas, in Ilhéus (26.8-34.6%) and the other populations from Ilhéus (23.3-40.8%), suggest a multicolonial structure of W. auropunctata in southeast Bahia. The genetic proximity among the W. auropunctata populations from cocoa (14.1%) and coconut plantations (18.5%) in Ilhéus with the populations from the French Guyanan forests suggest that there was recent and large expansion of populations derived from a single population, that are today distributed in habitats with similar environmental characteristics. The high polymorphism and the estimated heterozygosity values for the two species suggest that we studied native W. auropunctata and W.rochai populations.
金点铺道蚁（罗杰）和罗氏铺道蚁是巴西巴伊亚州东南部和西南部具有重要经济意义的蚂蚁。随机扩增多态性DNA（RAPD）标记被用于区分和分析来自伊列乌斯、热基耶、巴伊亚州和法属圭亚那的这两个物种种群的遗传变异性。金点铺道蚁和罗氏铺道蚁种群之间的遗传距离（55.8 - 71.4%）表明它们之间存在遗传分化。来自热基耶甘蔗和香蕉种植园的金点铺道蚁种群在遗传上最为遥远（30.1 - 46.3%），可能代表局限于孤立片段的种群。来自伊列乌斯CEPLAC试验区的金点铺道蚁种群之间的高遗传距离（26.8 - 34.6%）以及来自伊列乌斯的其他种群之间的高遗传距离（23.3 - 40.8%），表明巴伊亚州东南部的金点铺道蚁具有多蚁群结构。来自伊列乌斯可可种植园（14.1%）和椰子种植园（18.5%）的金点铺道蚁种群与来自法属圭亚那森林的种群之间的遗传相似性表明，存在近期由单一物种种群大规模扩张形成的情况，这些种群如今分布在具有相似环境特征的栖息地。这两个物种的高多态性和估计杂合度值表明我们研究的是金点铺道蚁和罗氏铺道蚁的本地种群。
