Supergene discovery leads to new knowledge of fire ants
The research could help development of new pest control methods

Date:
October 15, 2020
Source:
University of Georgia
Summary:
A unique study conducted by entomologists led to the discovery
of a distinctive supergene in fire ant colonies that determines
whether young queen ants will leave their birth colony to start
their own new colony or if they will join one with multiple queens.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A unique study conducted by University of Georgia entomologists led
to the discovery of a distinctive supergene in fire ant colonies that determines whether young queen ants will leave their birth colony to
start their own new colony or if they will join one with multiple queens.


========================================================================== Researchers also found that ants were more aggressive toward queens
who don't possess the supergene, causing main colony workers to kill
them. This critical finding opens the door to new pest control methods
that may be more efficient in eradicating problematic fire ant colonies.

"Learning about the way fire ants behave is very important baseline information," said Ken Ross, a professor of entomology at UGA. "This information is key to helping us manage pest populations and predict
what dissimilarities can happen in their environment." A supergene
is a collection of neighboring genes located on a chromosome that are
inherited together due to close genetic linkage. Studying these unique
genes is important to understanding the potential causes for differences
among the social structure of fire ants, specifically for controlling
the species and building on the existing knowledge base.

Researchers focused on young queen fire ants embarking on nuptial
flights. They compared the supergene's impact on the fire ants' two
primary types of social structures: monogyne, which is reproduction from
queens that form a new nest, and pologyne, reproduction from queens that
join an existing nest.

Ross initially worked alongside colleagues in his lab to discover
a remarkable example of genetically encoded differences in social
organization within the fire ant species Solenopsis invicta. The next
step was to understand how these genetic differences result in complex behavioral and physiological variations among ants from single queen
colonies versus colonies with multiple queens.

Compounding this knowledge helps scientists further understand patterns
of development in the species, increasing alternatives to combat invasive populations.

Led by a pair of UGA entomology graduate alumni, Joanie King, who earned
her master's degree in 2017, and Samuel Arsenault, who earned his doctoral degree in 2020, the team developed an experimental design that utilized
a collection of samples from two fire ant organs -- brain and ovarian
tissues -- and the complete range of social chromosome genotypes and
social forms within this fire ant species.

The innovative study incorporated various scientific methods, leading
to a collaboration of tools and resources throughout many areas of
the institution.

"UGA was a very supportive environment to conduct this research,"
said Brendan Hunt, associate professor of entomology. "We received help preparing samples for RNA sequencing from Dr. Bob Schmitz's lab in the
genetics department, performed the sequencing at the Georgia Genomics
and Bioinformatics Core, and utilized computational resources from
the Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center to analyze the data."
These types of student-led projects give young researchers the chance
to grow in a hands-on environment with mentorship and guidance from
scientists with proven track records in the field.

"The graduate students gained experience that helped them transition
to the next stages of their careers," said Hunt. "Both have gone on to
continue their studies of ant genetics."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Georgia. Original
written by Sean Montgomery. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Samuel V. Arsenault, Joanie T. King, Sasha Kay, Kip D. Lacy,
Kenneth G.

Ross, Brendan G. Hunt. Simple inheritance, complex regulation:
Supergene‐mediated fire ant queen polymorphism. Molecular
Ecology, 2020; 29 (19): 3622 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15581 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201015173118.htm

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