title: Transposable element islands facilitate adaptation to novel environments in an invasive species.
abstract: Adaptation requires genetic variation, but founder populations are generally genetically depleted. Here we sequence two populations of an inbred ant that diverge in phenotype to determine how variability is generated. Cardiocondyla obscurior has the smallest of the sequenced ant genomes and its structure suggests a fundamental role of transposable elements (TEs) in adaptive evolution. Accumulations of TEs (TE islands) comprising 7.18% of the genome evolve faster than other regions with regard to single-nucleotide variants, gene/exon duplications and deletions and gene homology. A non-random distribution of gene families, larvae/adult specific gene expression and signs of differential methylation in TE islands indicate intragenomic differences in regulation, evolutionary rates and coalescent effective population size. Our study reveals a tripartite interplay between TEs, life history and adaptation in an invasive species.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schrader
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA.
authors.forename: Jay W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ence
authors.affiliation: Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Aleksey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimin
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wyschetzki
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weichselgartner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kemena
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stökl
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schultner
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wurm
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 94132, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: 1] Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA [2] Utah Center for Genetic Discovery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yandell
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gadau
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oettler
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000235:genetics*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001938:Brazil; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005091:Exons; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020440:Gene Duplication; D017344:Genes, Insect; D049750:Genome, Insect; D044404:Genomic Islands; D058865:Introduced Species; D007564:Japan; D058974:Phylogeography; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements