Scarparo Giulia, West Mari, Brelsford Alan, Purcell Jessica
Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
Ann Entomol Soc Am. 2024 Aug 19;117(5):257-269. doi: 10.1093/aesa/saae020. eCollection 2024 Sep.
The study of social parasitism faces numerous challenges arising from the intricate and intranidal host-parasite interactions and the rarity of parasites compared to their free-living counterparts. As a result, our understanding of the ecology and evolution of most social parasites remains limited. Using whole-genome and reduced-representation sequence data, we conducted a study to fill knowledge gaps on host use, colony social structure, and population genetics of the facultative dulotic ant Forel. Our study reveals the remarkable ability of to exploit at least 20 different host species across its wide geographic distribution. In some cases, one social parasite colony exploits multiple hosts simultaneously, suggesting a high degree of generalization even at a local spatial scale. Approximately 80% of the colonies were monogyne (with a single queen), with many exhibiting higher rates of polyandry compared to most ants. Although we identified a supergene on chromosome 3, its association with colony structure remains uncertain due to the rarity of polygyny in our sample. Population genetic analyses reveal substantial geographic population structure, with the greatest divergence between California populations and those from the rest of the range. Mitochondrial population structure differs from structure inferred from the nuclear genome on a broad geographic scale, suggesting a possible role of adaptive introgression or genetic drift. This study provides valuable insights into the ecology and evolution of , underscoring the need for further research to decipher the complexities of host interactions and the genetic mechanisms that regulate social structure.
对社会寄生现象的研究面临着诸多挑战，这些挑战源于复杂的巢内宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用以及与自由生活同类相比寄生虫的稀有性。因此，我们对大多数社会寄生虫的生态和进化的理解仍然有限。利用全基因组和简化代表性序列数据，我们开展了一项研究，以填补关于兼性盗蚁Forel宿主利用、蚁群社会结构和种群遗传学方面的知识空白。我们的研究揭示了Forel在其广泛的地理分布范围内利用至少20种不同宿主物种的非凡能力。在某些情况下，一个社会寄生虫蚁群同时利用多种宿主，这表明即使在局部空间尺度上也具有高度的普遍性。大约80%的蚁群是单后制（只有一只蚁后），与大多数蚂蚁相比，许多蚁群表现出更高的多雄交配率。尽管我们在3号染色体上鉴定出一个超基因，但由于我们样本中多后制的稀有性，其与蚁群结构的关联仍不确定。种群遗传分析揭示了显著的地理种群结构，加利福尼亚种群与分布范围内其他地区的种群之间差异最大。线粒体种群结构在广泛的地理尺度上与从核基因组推断出的结构不同，这表明适应性基因渗入或遗传漂变可能发挥了作用。这项研究为Forel的生态和进化提供了有价值的见解，强调了进一步研究以破译宿主相互作用的复杂性和调节社会结构的遗传机制的必要性。
