Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com April 10, the yellow mad ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), also known as the long foot ant or Maldives ant, was first found in Africa. With the spread of human commercial goods to the world, it has become a dangerous invasive organism. They are jokingly called "crazy" ants because they behave irregularly when disturbed, and their long legs and antennae make them one of the largest invasive ants in the world.

Recently, a small international team of molecular and evolutionary scientists found that males have two sets of DNA all over their bodies. This unique finding is published in the journal Science and discusses possible reasons. Daniel Cronor of Rockefeller University published a commentary in the same issue of the magazine discussing the team's work and suggesting that this unique genetic trait may explain why the ant is such a successful invasive species.

According to CTOnews.com, one of the most basic concepts in bioscience is that multicellular organisms develop from a single-celled zygote to an organism with a unique genome. The only exception to this rule is chimerism, which is usually considered an accident in nature. In the new study, the team found another exception-yellow mad ant males have two sets of DNA.

Previous studies have shown genetic abnormalities in yellow mad ants, but until now, it is not clear why there are significant differences between queens, males and worker ants. To unravel this mystery, the researchers conducted population genetics and systematic geography studies on specimens collected from across Asia. They found that yellow mad ant males have two different genetic lineages-maternal and patrilineal nuclei-have not fused, so both remain active among all males of the species. The team pointed out that their findings represented the first discovery of forced chimerism (obligate chimerism). They believe that such chimerism may be caused by conflicts between competitive genetic lineages. Cronor believes that this unique genetic trait may help prevent inbreeding, thus helping the ants survive in unfamiliar territories, explaining why they have become such successful invasive species.

The yellow mad ant is a notorious invasive species, mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and Oceania, posing a threat to invertebrates and even some small mammals. On Australia's Christmas Island in southern Java, yellow mad ants kill a large number of red crabs endemic to the region. Although yellow mad ants are widely distributed in the Pacific, they can also cause serious damage to local biodiversity. The yellow mad ant has been listed as one of the world's top 100 invasive species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has invaded ecosystems from Hawaii to the Seychelles and formed a supercolony on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

The discovery that the male of yellow mad ant has two sets of DNA provides a new perspective for us to understand this strange creature and provides new clues for us to explore the genetics and evolution of invasive species.

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