Transcriptomics and Speciation in Ants of the Genus Atta (Formicidae: Attini)

Abstract

The understanding of mechanisms leading to the biological diversity is a fundamental issue in evolutionary biology. The arising of a new species is a process called speciation, which is powered by biological, environmental and geographic factors. Atta laevigata and A. sexdens are species of leaf-cutting ants which are considered pests for agriculture. Analyses in morphology, molecular phylogeny and population genetics suggest three groups reproductively isolated and partially sympatric within A. sedens and two groups within A. laevigata, each of these groups being probably distinct species. Recent speciation in these ants makes them an opportune study model for the searching of genes leading to reproductive isolation and thus underlying the process of speciation, the so-called "speciation genes". In the present research project we will search for speciation genes using next generation transcriptomics, a procedure which determines nucleotide sequence and relative amounts of all transcripts within an organism. This technique will allow us to determine mutations and gene expression differences disconnecting groups within A. sexdens or A. laevigata and to characterize the role of these genes in the speciation process.