Ant Population Genetics, Phylogeography and Phylogeny

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 528

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolução e Meio Ambiente (DEBIO), Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
Interests: social insects; molecular genetics; evolutionary biology; genome evolution; coevolution; Hymenoptera

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolução e Meio Ambiente/ICEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto 35400-000, MG, Brazil
Interests: social insects; molecular genetics; evolutionary biology; genome evolution; coevolution; Hymenoptera

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ant population genetics, phylogeography, and phylogeny are essential fields in ant biology that illuminate their evolutionary history, genetic diversity, and geographical distribution. Molecular phylogenetic analyses, utilizing DNA sequences and genetic markers, have significantly advanced our understanding of ant systematics and evolutionary trajectories. Phylogenetic trees serve as frameworks for studying trait evolution, ecological adaptations, and divergence times among different ant lineages.

These analyses also unveil how ant populations adapt to local environments and how genetic changes underpin their evolutionary success. By scrutinizing genetic markers across populations, researchers can infer historical migration patterns, colonization events, and expansions or contractions in population sizes. Phylogeographic studies in ants provide crucial insights into their dispersal capabilities, responses to past climate shifts, and the formation of biogeographic patterns. Together, these disciplines contribute comprehensively to understanding ant evolutionary dynamics, genetic diversity across populations, historical biogeography, and their broader ecological roles. Investigating ant population genetics, phylogeography, and phylogeny is indispensable for conservation strategies, pest management practices, and comprehending how environmental changes impact ant communities.

Authors are encouraged to delve into these technologies to explore ant diversity, genomics, molecular biology, and cytogenetics from a population-centered perspective, advancing our knowledge of these fascinating social insects and their intricate evolutionary histories.

Dr. Maykon Passos Cristiano
Dr. Danon Clemes Cardoso
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • phylogeography
  • Formicidae
  • biogeography
  • cytogenetics
  • population cytogenetics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1204 KiB  
Article
The Great Wanderer: The Phylogeographic History of the Bicolor Pyramid Ant (Dorymyrmex bicolor Wheeler, 1906) in Central Veracruz, Mexico
by Maria Gómez-Lazaga and Alejandro Espinosa de los Monteros
Insects 2025, 16(8), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16080785 (registering DOI) - 31 Jul 2025
Viewed by 184
Abstract
The goal of phylogeography is to explain how microevolutionary forces shape the gene pool of a lineage into the geography. In this study we have evaluated the amount of genetic variation in 13 populations of Dorymyrmex bicolor distributed in a mountainous region in [...] Read more.
The goal of phylogeography is to explain how microevolutionary forces shape the gene pool of a lineage into the geography. In this study we have evaluated the amount of genetic variation in 13 populations of Dorymyrmex bicolor distributed in a mountainous region in Central Veracruz, Mexico. To do so, we sequenced fragments from the mitochondrial COI, COII, and nuclear LWRh genes. Segregated sites were found only at the mitochondrial markers, recovering a total of 21 different haplotypes. The nucleotide diversity ranged from 0 to 0.5% at the different sampling sites. Phylogenetic and spatial analyses of molecular variance revealed a weak but significant phylogeographic structure associated with lowland and mountainous zones. Molecular clock analysis suggests that radiation in the mountain area started 7500 years ago, whereas lineage radiation in the lowland started more recently, around 2700 years ago. The phylogeographic structure is incipient, with nests from lowlands more closely related to mountain nests than to other lowland nests, and vice versa. This seems to be consistent with a model of incomplete lineage sorting. The obtained patterns appear to be the result of restricted gene flow mediated by a complex topographic landscape that has been shaped by a dynamic geologic history. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Population Genetics, Phylogeography and Phylogeny)
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