PXD037863 is an
original dataset announced via ProteomeXchange.
Dataset Summary
Title | Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant |
Description | Background: Eusociality is widely considered to evolve through kin selection, where the reproductive success of an individual’s close relative is favored at the expense of its own. High genetic relatedness is thus considered a prerequisite for eusociality. While ants are textbook examples of eusocial animals, not all ants form colonies of closely related individuals. One such example is the ectatommine ant Rhytidoponera metallica, which predominantly forms predominantly queen-less colonies that have such a low intra-colony relatedness that they have been proposed to represent a transient, unstable form of eusociality. However, R. metallica is among the most abundant and widespread ants on the Australian continent. This apparent contrast provides an example of how inclusive fitness may not by itself explain the maintenance of eusociality and raises the question of what other selective advantages maintain their eusocial lifestyle. Results: We provide a comprehensive portrait of the venom of R. metallica and show that the colony-wide venom consists of a, for an ant, exceptionally high diversity of functionally distinct toxins. These toxins have evolved under strong positive selection, which is normally expected to reduce genetic variance. Yet, R. metallica exhibits remarkable intra-colony variation, with workers sharing only a relatively small proportion of toxins in their venoms. We also find that this variation is not due to the presence of chemical castes, but that it has a genetic foundation that is at least in part explained by toxin allelic diversity. Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggest that the toxin diversity contained in R. metallica colonies may be maintained by a form of group selection, which selects for colonies that can exploit more resources and defend against a wider range of predators. We propose that increased intra-colony genetic variance resulting from low kinship may itself provide a selective advantage in the form of an expanded pharmacological venom repertoire. These findings provide an example of how group selection on adaptive phenotypes may contribute to maintaining eusociality where a prerequisite for kin selection is diminished. |
HostingRepository | PRIDE |
AnnounceDate | 2022-12-09 |
AnnouncementXML | Submission_2022-12-08_18:13:22.376.xml |
DigitalObjectIdentifier | |
ReviewLevel | Peer-reviewed dataset |
DatasetOrigin | Original dataset |
RepositorySupport | Unsupported dataset by repository |
PrimarySubmitter | VanessaSchendel |
SpeciesList | scientific name: Rhytidoponera metallica; NCBI TaxID: 148364; |
ModificationList | No PTMs are included in the dataset |
Instrument | TripleTOF 5600 |
Dataset History
Revision | Datetime | Status | ChangeLog Entry |
0 | 2022-10-31 09:25:50 | ID requested | |
⏵ 1 | 2022-12-08 18:13:22 | announced | |
Publication List
Dataset with its publication pending |
Keyword List
submitter keyword: Formicidae |
kin selection |
group selection |
eusocial |
peptide |
toxin |
Contact List
Eivind A. B.Undheim |
contact affiliation | Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, NTNU, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway |
contact email | e.a.b.undheim@ibv.uio.no |
lab head | |
VanessaSchendel |
contact affiliation | University of Queensland |
contact email | v.schendel@uq.edu.au |
dataset submitter | |
Full Dataset Link List
Dataset FTP location
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PRIDE project URI |
Repository Record List
[ + ]
[ - ]
- PRIDE
- PXD037863
- Label: PRIDE project
- Name: Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant