Phylogeography and population genetics of a widespread cold-adapted ant,
Prenolepis imparis
Abstract
Historical climate fluctuations have left genetic signatures on species
and populations across North America. Here, we used phylogenetic and
population genetic analyses from 1,402 orthologous sequences of 75
individuals obtained through sequencing of Ultraconserved Elements
(UCEs) to identify population genetic structure and historical
demographic patterns across the range of a widespread, cold-adapted ant,
the winter ant, Prenolepis imparis. We relate the genomic
patterns to those expected as a result of in situ
diversification, maintained connectivity, or recent migration. We
recovered five well-supported, genetically isolated clades across the
distribution: 1) a basal lineage located in Florida, 2) populations
across the southern United States, 3) populations that span the
midwestern and northeastern United States, 4) populations from the
western United States, and 5) populations in southwestern Arizona and
Mexico. Using Bayesian clustering analysis in STRUCTURE and k-means
clustering in ADEGENET, we investigated gene flow between these major
genetic clades and did not find evidence of gene flow between clades. We
did find evidence of localized structure with migration in the western
United States clade. High support for five major geographic lineages and
lack of evidence of contemporary gene flow indicate in situ
diversification across the species’ range, probably influenced by
glacial cycles of the late Quaternary.