Characterization of a New Set of Microsatellite Markers Suggests Polygyny and Polyandry in Atta cephalotes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The leaf-cutting ant, Atta cephalotes L. (1758), is a major herbivore with great economic impact in the Neotropics. Because of its broad range and human-mediated dissemination, the ecology of this ant has received considerable attention; however, questions concerning its population genetics, dispersal, and social structure remain unexplored. Here, we aimed to identify and provide information on molecular and statistical performance of a suite of polymorphic microsatellite markers for A. cephalotes while demonstrating their utility for further genetic studies. We designed primer sequences targeting thousands of microsatellite loci and then screened 30 of these for amplification and polymorphism. Fifteen of these loci were selected and used to evaluate their polymorphism using 74 ants sampled from 15 different nests of the same location. This set of 15 loci exhibited variation of 2–20 alleles, with a mean heterozygosity of 0.57. All loci followed Hardy–Weinberg expectations with no evidence of linkage disequilibrium, while two loci showed evidence of null alleles. Our preliminary analysis suggested substantial nest differentiation with no population viscosity within the sampled location, as well as colonies with multiple queens (polygyny) and paternity (polyandry). Our newly identified microsatellites have proven to be highly informative to investigate gene flow, social structure and reproduction of this key agricultural pest.