title: Oligonucleotide primers for targeted amplification of single-copy nuclear genes in apocritan Hymenoptera.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Published nucleotide sequence data from the mega-diverse insect order Hymenoptera (sawflies, bees, wasps, and ants) are taxonomically scattered and still inadequate for reconstructing a well-supported phylogenetic tree for the order. The analysis of comprehensive multiple gene data sets obtained via targeted PCR could provide a cost-effective solution to this problem. However, oligonucleotide primers for PCR amplification of nuclear genes across a wide range of hymenopteran species are still scarce.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here we present a suite of degenerate oligonucleotide primer pairs for PCR amplification of 154 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes from Hymenoptera. These primers were inferred from genome sequence data from nine Hymenoptera (seven species of ants, the honeybee, and the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis). We empirically tested a randomly chosen subset of these primer pairs for amplifying target genes from six Hymenoptera, representing the families Chrysididae, Crabronidae, Gasteruptiidae, Leucospidae, Pompilidae, and Stephanidae. Based on our results, we estimate that these primers are suitable for studying a large number of nuclear genes across a wide range of apocritan Hymenoptera (i.e., all hymenopterans with a wasp-waist) and of aculeate Hymenoptera in particular (i.e., apocritan wasps with stingers).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The amplified nucleotide sequences are (a) with high probability from single-copy genes, (b) easily generated at low financial costs, especially when compared to phylogenomic approaches, (c) easily sequenced by means of an additionally provided set of sequencing primers, and (d) suitable to address a wide range of phylogenetic questions and to aid rapid species identification via barcoding, as many amplicons contain both exonic and fast-evolving intronic nucleotides.
authors: Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Zentrum für Molekulare Biodiversitätsforschung, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Gerrit
authors: G
authors: Hartig
authors: Ralph S
authors: RS
authors: Peters
authors: Janus
authors: J
authors: Borner
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Etzbauer
authors: Bernhard
authors: B
authors: Misof
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Niehuis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000378:metabolism*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D018628:Gene Dosage / Q000235:genetics*; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000235:genetics*; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers