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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Biological Control of Pests Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #398233
Research Project: Biology and Control of Invasive Ants

Location: Biological Control of Pests Research

Title: Complete chromosome-level genome assembly data from the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author
item Allen, Margaret
item Saelao, Perot
item Miles, Godfrey
item CROSS, DAVID - Mississippi State University
item HILL, JOVONN - Mississippi State University
item VARGO, EDWARD - Texas A&M University
item Grodowitz, Michael

Submitted to: Data in Brief
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/12/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: A high-quality chromosome-level genome of the invasive tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (TCA), an important pest ant in its introduced regions was prepared. Researchers studying ant and social insect genomics, comparative genomics, and evolution will find value in the chromosome-level genome, particularly for studying supergenes and synteny. Ants (family Formicidae, order Hymenoptera) have extremely diverse chromosome-level genomes, with haploid chromosome number varying between 1 and 60 (Lorite 2010). These data will help study this phenomenon. The dataset can be used to study genes involved in sexual and social phenotypic and behavioral polymorphisms. The dataset will help clarify the evolution of chemical communication, venom genes, and biosynthetic pathways.

Technical Abstract: The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has a native range that extends from northern Argentina to southern Brazil. In the U.S.A. this ant has often been misidentified as Nylanderia (Paratrechina) pubens or N. cf. pubens and has likely been present in Florida and Texas for several decades (MacGown 2016). In the early 2000’s explosive population growth in Texas and neighboring states drew renewed taxonomic focus. Genetic analyses by Zhao et al. (2012) and Gotzek et al. (2012) aided in identifying the pest species as N. fulva. This species poses an invasive threat to native flora and fauna and human structures. In its invasive range it has been reported to displace another invasive species, the red imported fire ant. The specimens used for genome sequencing were obtained from the coastal region of Mississippi. DNA was extracted from pupae. The genome data set was deposited to the National Center for Biotechnology Information as submission ID: SUB10775679, Project ID: PRJNA796544, Accession IDs: SAMN24895442 and JAKFQQ000000000. The organism taxid is 613905, locus tag prefixes are L1K79. The assembly, USDA_Nfulva_1.0, was generated in collaboration with Dovetail Genomics (now Cantata Bio) to yield a chromosome-level assembly of 375 Mb with a 15.67 Mb N50 and 78X coverage and revealing 16 putative chromosomes. This high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly was released prior to publication as a public service to the research community.