title: Draft genome of the globally widespread and invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile).
abstract: Ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on Earth, and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. Although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of a particularly widespread and well-studied species, the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), which was accomplished using a combination of 454 (Roche) and Illumina sequencing and community-based funding rather than federal grant support. Manual annotation of >1,000 genes from a variety of different gene families and functional classes reveals unique features of the Argentine ant's biology, as well as similarities to Apis mellifera and Nasonia vitripennis. Distinctive features of the Argentine ant genome include remarkable expansions of gustatory (116 genes) and odorant receptors (367 genes), an abundance of cytochrome P450 genes (>110), lineage-specific expansions of yellow/major royal jelly proteins and desaturases, and complete CpG DNA methylation and RNAi toolkits. The Argentine ant genome contains fewer immune genes than Drosophila and Tribolium, which may reflect the prominent role played by behavioral and chemical suppression of pathogens. Analysis of the ratio of observed to expected CpG nucleotides for genes in the reproductive development and apoptosis pathways suggests higher levels of methylation than in the genome overall. The resources provided by this genome sequence will offer an abundance of tools for researchers seeking to illuminate the fascinating biology of this emerging model organism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Computer Science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA. smithcd@sfsu.edu
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Aleksey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimin
authors.forename: Carson
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: Ehab
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abouheif
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benton
authors.forename: Elizabeth
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authors.lastname: Cash
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Croset
authors.forename: Cameron R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Currie
authors.forename: Eran
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authors.lastname: Elhaik
authors.forename: Christine G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Elsik
authors.forename: Marie-Julie
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authors.lastname: Fave
authors.forename: Vilaiwan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gadau
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Graur
authors.forename: Kirk J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Grubbs
authors.forename: Darren E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helmkampf
authors.forename: Jo-Anne
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Holley
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ana Sofia Ibarraran
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Viniegra
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Reed M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Abderrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khila
authors.forename: Jay W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laird
authors.forename: Kaitlyn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Mathis
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Moeller
authors.forename: Monica C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Torres
authors.forename: Marguerite C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Rin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Surabhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nigam
authors.forename: Rick P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Overson
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Placek
authors.forename: Rajendhran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajakumar
authors.forename: Justin T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Reese
authors.forename: Hugh M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Chris R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Andrew V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: Garret
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suen
authors.forename: Elissa L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Suhr
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Candice W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Wilgenburg
authors.forename: Lumi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Viljakainen
authors.forename: Kimberly K O
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Walden
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Wild
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yandell
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yorke
authors.forename: Neil D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002140:California; D019175:DNA Methylation; D015723:Gene Library; D005828:Genetics, Population; D049750:Genome, Insect / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018035:Receptors, Odorant