Phylogeny and diversification of the ants, wasps and bees (Hymenoptera Aculeata) using targeted enrichment of ultra-conserved elements

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

One universal feature of life on earth is that the rate at which new species are formed varies widely across organisms. Features such as changes in life history, may be one explanation for the big differences among these rates. In insects, changes in diet, sociality, and mode of parasitism have been investigated for their impact on species formation. However, very few groups of insects include species that have all of these life history traits, making it difficult to compare their individual impacts. The ants, wasps and bees (Aculeata) represent one such group; their numerous species exhibit a diversity of life histories. The researchers will use new methods of genome sequencing to uncover the evolutionary relationships among the 65,000 described species of ants, wasps and bees. This research will provide important insights into differences in rates of speciation for a large group of organisms with sophisticated social systems (including ants, hornets, yellow jackets, honey bees and bumblebees) and the economically important group of pollinating insects (bees). This project will contribute significantly to the development of scientific expertise and improved infrastructure in the United States. It will provide training opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers in sophisticated methods of DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, computer programming, and phylogenetic analysis. Protocols and data will be made publically available. The project will develop a traveling public exhibit on the biodiversity, evolutionary history, and importance of our most important agricultural pollinators (bees). The research team will take advantage of new technological innovations in DNA sequencing to generate massive data sets for resolving the relationships of the Aculeata. Using highly conserved regions of the genome (ultraconserved elements) they will enrich genomic libraries for genes of interest. These enriched libraries will then be subjected to sequencing using the latest sequencing technologies. Using bioinformatics tools, the data sets will be assembled, aligned, and analyzed to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among aculeate taxa and determine where and when shifts in diversification took place.