[{"_id":"project:8903","_type":"project","abstract":{"sv":"Ett av de största kvarvarande mysterierna inom evolutionsbiologi är hur artbildning kan ske mellan populationer som lever på samma plats, så kallad ”sympatrisk artbildning”. Vanligtvis sker artbildning mellan populationer som lever geografiskt åtskilt, där skillnader i den lokala miljön kan göra att dessa populationer utvecklas till att se ut eller bete sig på olika sätt. Men under artbildning som sker sympatriskt, alltså på samma plats, finns ju inga sådana skillnader i den lokala miljön. Så vad är det då som gör att individer av samma art utvecklas åt olika håll? Få tydliga exempel på sympatrisk artbildning har hittills hittats i naturen vilket gör att vi inte förstår speciellt mycket om hur detta går till.I detta forskningsprojekt vill jag undersöka den sympatriska artbildning som pågår i trädgårdsrödmyran, en art där det finns två sorters drottningar. De ”vanliga” (stora) drottningarna lever som myrdrottningar oftast gör: de producerar arbetare som bygger upp och underhåller stacken, och nya drottningar och drönare som kan föra generna vidare till nästa generation. Men de små drottningarna, som utvecklats från de stora, har ett väldigt annorlunda beteende. Ett beteende som gör dem till naturens sämsta sambos. I stället för att producera egna arbetare så infiltrerar de små drottningarna redan uppbyggda myrstackar, och lurar arbetarna där att ge dem mat och ta hand om deras ägg.Myrdrottningarna parar sig helst med drönare som producerats av drottningar som ser ut som de själva, och därför håller dessa populationer på att sympatriskt bildas till olika arter – artbildning inom samma myrstack!I denna forskning vill jag hitta den genetiska orsaken till att drottningarna ser ut och beter sig olika, och vad det är i deras arvsmassa som bidrar till artbildningen. Jag misstänker att en så kallad ”supergen” som jag har hittat är inblandad i detta, och kommer att testa denna hypotes med hjälp av DNA-data från trädgårdsrödmyran och dess nära släkting skogsrödmyran.  ","en":"Whether new species can form in sympatry is an unsolved and fundamental problem in evolutionary biology. Convincing cases from nature are few, hampering our understanding of how and when sympatric speciation occurs. “Inquiline” social parasites in ants have long been recognized as promising systems for sympatric speciation. However, there are currently no genomic studies attempting to understand the molecular basis of traits causing divergent selection between speciating lineages, or identifying molecular barriers to gene flow, in such systems. I propose to do both in Myrmica rubra, a species in which socially parasitic ant queens (“microgynes”) are currently speciating in sympatry from normal, non-parasitic, ant queens (“macrogynes”). I have identified a 7 Mb supergene polymorphism in M. rubra and its sister species M. ruginodis, which also has microgyne and macrogyne queens but where microgynes are neither parasitic nor speciating. Based on preliminary results showing haplotype differences between macrogynes (AB) and microgynes (BB), I hypothesize that this supergene is involved with queen polymorphism in both species and acts as a barrier locus between M. rubra queen morphs. I will test these hypotheses in a three-year research project based at the universities of Oulu (Finland) and Uppsala (Sweden), using whole-genome sequencing data. The results will contribute to our understanding of the molecular basis of adaptation and sympatric speciation in a haplodiploid system."},"project_id":"2023-00403_VR","identifier_short":"2023-00403","dates":{"start_date":"2023-07-01","end_date":"2026-06-30"},"organizations":[{"funding":[{"_id":2,"id":"202100-5208","sv":"Vetenskapsrådet","en":"Swedish Research Council"}]},{"coordinating":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]}],"people":[{"project_leaders":[{"orcid":"0000-0002-1457-4174","name":"Sigeman, Hanna","role":"principal_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":978,"id":"202100-2932","sv":"Uppsala universitet","en":"Uppsala University"}]}]},{"other_personnel":[]}],"tags":[{"_id":11557,"id":"10609","sv":"Genetik","en":"Genetics"},{"_id":11558,"id":"10610","sv":"Bioinformatik och systembiologi","en":"Bioinformatics and Systems Biology"},{"_id":11563,"id":"10615","sv":"Evolutionsbiologi","en":"Evolutionary Biology"}],"titles":{"sv":"Molekylära mekanismer för sympatrisk artbildning i en socialt parasiterande myra","en":"Molecular mechanisms of sympatric speciation in a socially parasitic ant"},"total_funding":"3600000","type_of_awards":{"sv":"Bidrag för anställning eller stipendier","en":"Grant for employment or scholarship"},"publications":[{"id":"diva2:2013207","type":"article-journal","status":"Published","issued":{"date-parts":[[2025]]},"title":"A Novel Supergene Controls Queen Size and Colony Social Organization in the Ant <i>Myrmica ruginodis</i>","language":"eng","author":[{"family":"Sigeman","given":"Hanna","ORCID":"0000-0002-1457-4174","localId":"hansi340","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ Oulu, Ecol & Genet Res Unit, POB 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland"},{"id":"890407","name":"Uppsala universitet, Genetik och Genomik"},{"id":"9051","name":"Uppsala universitet, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab"}]},{"family":"Seppä","given":"Perttu","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ Helsinki, Organismal & Evolutionary Biol Res Programme, POB 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland."}]},{"family":"Downing","given":"Philip A.","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ Oulu, Ecol & Genet Res Unit, POB 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland."}]},{"family":"Webster","given":"Matthew T.","ORCID":"0000-0003-1141-2863","localId":"maweb226","affiliation":[{"id":"9051","name":"Uppsala universitet, Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab"},{"id":"890407","name":"Uppsala universitet, Genetik och Genomik"}]},{"family":"Helanterä","given":"Heikki","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ Oulu, Ecol & Genet Res Unit, POB 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland.;Univ Helsinki, Tvarminne Zool Stn, JA Palmenin Tie 260, Hango 10900, Finland."}]},{"family":"Viljakainen","given":"Lumi","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ Oulu, Ecol & Genet Res Unit, POB 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland."}]}],"abstract":"Large independently evolved supergenes control colony social organization and queen reproductive strategies in several ant lineages. Their independent origins, as well as the similarities of the associated phenotypes, make ant supergenes a promising system for studying the parallel evolution of genome organization and adaptability. However, the genetic basis of differences in social organization and queen phenotypes remains unknown in many ant species, limiting the potential power of this system for comparative studies. We investigated the genetic basis of colony social organization in the queen-size dimorphic ant <i>Myrmica ruginodis</i> by sampling 95 queens from 31 colonies in southern Finland. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a novel 9 Mb supergene associated with both queen size and social organization. Queens homozygous for the AA haplotype were larger and found only in single-queen colonies, while queens in multiple-queen colonies were smaller and carried only AB and BB genotypes. This supergene is not homologous to previously identified supergenes in ants, suggesting it arose through a distinct evolutionary pathway.","DOI":"10.1093/molbev/msaf255","PMID":"41077914","ScopusId":"2-s2.0-105020608948","NBN":"urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-571268","issue":"11","volume":"42","number":"msaf255","container-title":"Molecular biology and evolution","ISSN":"1537-1719","keyword":"supergene; Myrmica ruginodis; ant; polygyny","publisher":"Oxford University Press","published":[{"raw":"2025-11-12T09:56:58.604+01:00"}],"created":[{"raw":"2025-11-12T09:56:58.676+01:00"}],"updated":[{"raw":"2025-11-12T09:56:58.604+01:00"}],"URL":"https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-571268"}],"links":[{"type":"pid","link":"https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/api/project/swecris/project:8903"}]}]