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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407824
Research Project: Sustainable Crop Production and Wildland Preservation through the Management, Systematics, and Conservation of a Diversity of Bees

Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research

Title: A phylogenomic overview of the ant genus Tapinoma Foerster, 1850 (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae), with the phylogeographic history of the ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum

Author
item PEREZ-FLORES, OSCAR - Universidad Nacianal Autonoma De Mexico
item Branstetter, Michael
item LONGINO, J - University Of Utah
item MATOS-MARAVI, PAVEL - Biology Centre Of The Ascr Of The Czech Republic, Vvi
item BOROVANSKA, MICHAELA - Biology Centre Of The Ascr Of The Czech Republic, Vvi
item JANDA, MILAN - Universidad Nacianal Autonoma De Mexico

Submitted to: Insect Systematics and Diversity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/2025
Publication Date: 9/17/2025
Citation: Perez-Flores, O., Branstetter, M.G., Longino, J.T., Matos-Maravi, P., Borovanska, M., Janda, M. 2025. A phylogenomic framework of the ant genus Tapinoma Foerster, 1850 (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae), with the phylogeographic history of the ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum. Insect Systematics and Diversity. Insect Systematics and Diversity, Volume 9, Issue 5. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaf035.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaf035

Interpretive Summary: The ant genus Tapinoma is a moderately diverse group that occurs worldwide. The genus is well known because of the introduced species Tapinoma melanocephalum, or ghost ant, which has become established across tropical and subtropical regions. In the US, the ant has been introduced to Florida and Hawaii and its range is expanding. Despite the importance of this group, its origins, family tree, and diversity remain unclear. Using genomic data from thousands of ultraconserved elment (UCE) genetic markers, an international group of researchers explored the group's family tree and species diversity. Results revealed that the genus originated in tropical Asia/Australia ~45 million years ago and that the common nuisance ant species is actually two distinct lineages. It was also found that an ecological shift to urban environments might have helped the genus spread globally. This work provides new information about an important introduced ant species and sheds light on how some species can become good establishers in new areas.

Technical Abstract: The ant genus Tapinoma Foerster, 1850 is a moderately diverse group (72 valid species) that occurs worldwide. It includes the tramp species T. melanocephalum, whose evolutionary history, biogeographic origin, and species limits remain unclear. Here we present a time-calibrated phylogeny and a biogeographic history inference of the genus based on thousands of Ultraconserved Element (UCE) loci. We use SNPs from UCE loci and COI sequences to analyze species boundaries focused on T. melanocephalum, under two approaches (genomic and mitochondrial DNA). We recovered Tapinoma as monophyletic and the genus Aptinoma as the sister group with an estimated origin of the genus in the middle Eocene (48.7 to 43.4 Ma) in the Australasian or Oriental region. The phylogenomic data exposed two sister lineages within the traditionally considered T. melanocephalum: one restricted mainly to the Oriental region, and another distributed worldwide. Population genetics analyses confirm considerable divergence among sampled T. melanocephalum, and heterogeneous genetic structure with a weak relationship between genetic differentiation and geographic distance. Using a COI gene-tree to reconstruct the evolution of habitat preferences of T. melanocephalum, we revealed an ecological shift from undisturbed to urban environments, which may have facilitated its ubiquitous and global distribution.