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1 May 2012 Phylogenetic Relationships among Populations of Vollenhovia Ants, with Particular Focus on the Evolution of Wing Morphology
Kazuya Kobayashi, Kei Tamura, Misato Okamoto, Eisuke Hasegawa, Kyohsuke Ohkawara
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Abstract

Queen polymorphism in wing morphology and thoracic structure provides the opportunity to test hypotheses about mating strategies and colony founding modes. Some studies indicate that the difference in mating behavior between winged and wingless queens may promote genetic isolation, possibly leading to speciation. However, the knowledge about genetic differences and phylogenetic relationships among polymorphic queens is limited. Queens of the myrmicine ant Vollenhovia emeryi Wheeler exhibit two morphs: a long-winged (L-queen) and a short-winged (S-queen) morph. We analyzed the phylogenetic relationship among populations of L- and S-queens in V. emeryi and the congeneric species V. nipponica, V. benzai, V. okinawana, and V. yambaru. The molecular phylogeny inferred from mtDNA (≈2,200 nt) showed that S-queens formed a monophyletic clade and that L- and S- queens sampled from the same location did not group together. The phylogeny indicates that wing reduction occurred only once and that S-queen populations are genetically differentiated from L-queen populations, at least in their maternal genomes. The phylogeny is consistent with the hypothesis that wing reduction leads to reproductive isolation in V. emeryi.

© 2012 Entomological Society of America
Kazuya Kobayashi, Kei Tamura, Misato Okamoto, Eisuke Hasegawa, and Kyohsuke Ohkawara "Phylogenetic Relationships among Populations of Vollenhovia Ants, with Particular Focus on the Evolution of Wing Morphology," Annals of the Entomological Society of America 105(3), 454-461, (1 May 2012). https://doi.org/10.1603/AN11038
Received: 20 February 2011; Accepted: 1 December 2011; Published: 1 May 2012
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KEYWORDS
ant
mitochondrial DNA
phylogeny
Vollenhovia emeryi
wing polymorphism
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