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. 2018 Jul 1;18(4):14.
doi: 10.1093/jisesa/iey079.

Genetic Characterization of Some Neoponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations Within the foetida Species Complex

Rebeca P Santos  1 , Cléa S F Mariano  1   2 , Jacques H C Delabie  2   3 , Marco A Costa  1 , Kátia M Lima  1 , Silvia G Pompolo  4 , Itanna O Fernandes  5 , Elder A Miranda  1 , Antonio F Carvalho  1 , Janisete G Silva  1
Affiliations

Genetic Characterization of Some Neoponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations Within the foetida Species Complex

Rebeca P Santos et al. J Insect Sci. .

Abstract

The foetida species complex comprises 13 Neotropical species in the ant genus Neoponera. Neoponera villosa Fabricius (1804) , Neoponera inversa Smith (1858), Neoponera bactronica Fernandes, Oliveira & Delabie (2013), and Neoponera curvinodis (Forel, 1899) have had an ambiguous taxonomic status for more than two decades. In southern Bahia, Brazil, these four species are frequently found in sympatry. Here we used Bayesian Inference and maximum likelihood analyses of COI and 16S mtDNA sequence data and conventional cytogenetic data together with observations on morphology to characterize sympatric populations of N. villosa, N. inversa, N. bactronica, and N. curvinodis. Our results showed marked differences in the karyotype of these ants. Both N. curvinodis and N. inversa have chromosome number of 2n = 30. Their chromosome composition, however, is distinct, which indicates that N. curvinodis is more closely related to N. bactronica. These four species clustered into three distinct groups. The close relationship between N. bactronica and N. curvinodis deserves further investigation since it has not been fully resolved here. Our results confirm that N. inversa, N. villosa, N. bactronica + N. curvinodis indeed represent four distinct taxa within the foetida species complex.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Sampled localities for Neoponera species in Brazil. The triangles represent the collection sites in the states of Bahia (BA) and Espírito Santo (ES).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
BI based on 1,010 bp of COI and 16S mitochondrial genes showing three major clades recovered with high support values. Posterior probability and bootstrap values for BI and ML, respectively, are shown above each supported node. The numbers in brackets indicate the GenBank accession numbers.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Karyotype of Neoponera species. (a) N. bactronica 2n = 26, collected in Ilhéus-BA. (b) N. bactronica 2n = 28, collected in Una-BA. (c) N. inversa 2n = 30, collected in Ilhéus-BA. (d) N. villosa 2n = 34, collected in Ilhéus-BA.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Metaphase of N. curvinodis 2n = 30, collected in Ilhéus-BA.
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