Wu Li-Hua, Zou Jie, Jiang Yu-Ting, Lu Ling, Jiang Kai, Zhang Kai-Jian, Liu Wei-Chao, Xiang Wei-Min, Wang Gang, Segar Simon T, van Noort Simon, Li Yuan-Yuan, Zhang Yuan-Ye, Chen Xiao-Yong, Compton Stephen G, Wang Rong
Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China.
Commun Biol. 2025 Sep 26;8(1):1363. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-08733-1.
Some fig species introduced outside of their native range have become invasive when colonized by their obligate pollinating wasps, but how these pollinators migrated and adapted to novel environments are less studied. Here, we focus on Eupristina verticillata, the obligate pollinating wasp of an invasive fig tree species (Ficus microcarpa), to uncover its demography and the molecular basis for adaptations to novel environments. We find that only one of the three cryptic species colonized in the sampling locations outside of its native range. This dominant cryptic species migrated simultaneously from the native range to the Americas and to the Mediterranean c. 130 years ago. Moreover, selective sweep analyses reveal several positively selected genes associated with adaptations to the nonnative range. Genome-wide association detect a nonsynonymous substitution in a dopamine N-acetyltransferase gene significantly linked with brood size. Our study outlines the route to colonization and genetic adaptations of an invasive mutualism.
一些在其原生范围之外引入的榕属物种，在被其专性传粉黄蜂定殖后已成为入侵物种，但这些传粉者如何迁移并适应新环境的研究较少。在这里，我们聚焦于一种入侵性榕树物种（小叶榕）的专性传粉黄蜂——垂叶榕小蜂，以揭示其种群动态以及适应新环境的分子基础。我们发现，在其原生范围之外的采样地点定殖的三个隐存种中只有一个。这个占主导地位的隐存种约在130年前同时从原生范围迁移到了美洲和地中海地区。此外，选择性清除分析揭示了几个与适应非原生范围相关的正选择基因。全基因组关联研究检测到一个多巴胺N - 乙酰转移酶基因中的非同义替换与育雏数量显著相关。我们的研究概述了一种入侵性共生关系的定殖途径和遗传适应过程。
