Phylogenetic reconstruction of the ancestral chromosome number of the genera Anochetus mayr, 1861 and Odontomachus latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae).
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Recent phylogenetic and molecular data are changing our knowledge about the
relations between species and evolutionary processes resulting in the chromosome
variation observed in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ants exhibit remarkable variations
in morphology, behavior, karyotypes, and chromosome structure. By assembling genetic
and chromosome information about the trap-jaw ants from the subfamily Ponerinae, we
reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships that inferred the monophyletic condition
between the Anochetus and Odontomachus genera and estimated their ancestral
haploid chromosome number. According to our inferences, these clades have an
ancestral haploid chromosome number n = 15. The most recent common ancestor of
Anochetus and Odontomachus has arisen between the Early Paleocene and the Early
Eocene periods (time of the most recent common ancestor). In the Anochetus genus,
we observed maintenance of the ancestral chromosome number estimated here in most
species. This also suggests that pericentric inversions were the primary chromosomal
rearrangement modulating the karyotype evolution of this genus. However, a reduction
from n = 15–14 is observed in Anochetus emarginatus and Anochetus cf. madaraszi,
which likely occurred by centromeric fusion. In contrast, the increase from the
ancestral karyotype number in Anochetus horridus suggested centromeric fissions.
Odontomachus showed maintenance of the ancestral chromosome number in the
“rixosus group” and several gains in all species from the “haematodus group.” Our
findings suggest that centromeric fissions and pericentric rearrangements lead to
chromosomal changes in trap-jaw ants. Considering the ancestral state estimated
here, changes in chromosome morphology are likely due to pericentric inversions, and
chromosome number increases are likely due to centric fissions. The higher number
of acrocentric or telocentric chromosomes in the karyotypes with n < 15 haploid
chromosomes supports such an idea.
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Keywords
Chromosome evolution, Karyotype, Ancestral reconstruction, Ponerinae ants, Phylogenetic analysis
Citation
AFONSO NETO, P. C. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the ancestral chromosome number of the genera Anochetus mayr, 1861 and Odontomachus latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, v. 10, fev. 2022. Disponível em: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.829989/full>. Acesso em: 29 abr. 2022.