Transcriptomics and neuroanatomy of the clonal raider ant implicate an expanded clade of odorant receptors in chemical communication.

ABSTRACT: A major aim of sociogenomic research is to uncover common principles in the molecular evolution of sociality. This endeavor has been hampered by the small number of specific genes currently known to function in social behavior. Here we provide several lines of evidence suggesting that ants have evolved a large and novel clade of odorant receptor (OR) genes to perceive hydrocarbon-based pheromones, arguably the most important signals in ant communication. This genomic expansion is also mirrored in the ant brain via a corresponding expansion of a specific cluster of glomeruli in the antennal lobe. We show that in the clonal raider ant, hydrocarbon-sensitive basiconic sensilla are found only on the ventral surface of the female antennal club. Correspondingly, nearly all genes in a clade of 18

SUBMITTER: McKenzie SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5150400 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature