Cost-effective long-read assembly of a hybrid Formica aquilonia × Formica polyctena wood ant genome from a single haploid individual

ABSTRACTFormica red wood ants are a keystone species of boreal forest ecosystems and an emerging model system in the study of speciation and hybridization. Here we performed a standard DNA extraction from a single, field-collected Formica aquilonia × Formica polyctena haploid male and assembled its genome using ∼60× of PacBio long reads. After polishing and contaminant removal, the final assembly was 272 Mb (4,687 contigs, N50 = 1.16 Mb). Our reference genome contains 98.5% of the core Hymenoptera BUSCOs and was scaffolded using the pseudo-chromosomal assembly of a related species, F. selysi (28 scaffolds, N50 = 8.49 Mb). Around one third of the genome consists of repeats, and 17,426 gene models were annotated using both protein and RNAseq data (97.4% BUSCO completeness). This resource is of comparable quality to the few other single individual insect genomes assembled to date and paves the way to genomic studies of admixture in natural populations and comparative genomic approaches in Formica wood ants.

Ecological Traits of Formica Aquilonia Yarrow (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Environmental System of the Coal Mining Region

The ecological traits of the settlement of ants Formica aqiulonia Yarrow were studied in areas influenced by various anthropogenic factors (recreation, coal industry, increasing road traffic). We have revealed that ants are sensitive to any effects and in the overwhelming cases disappear from the contaminated area. Anthills with a dome diameter of 0.65-0.80 appeared to be the most resistant to various anthropogenic factors. No changes in the diet of F. aquilonia have been detected in the zone of coalmine impact. On the contrary, in the areas with a high recreational impact, the proportion first and second instar larvae of the Colorado beetle is increasing, which makes it possible to consider this species as a biological defense.

Red wood ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) influence on the spatial distribution of small mammals in the conditions of the Volga Upland

The paper presents the results of research devoted to the study of the spatial interaction of small mammals and red wood ants. The aim of the research was to learn the ants Formica aquilonia Yarr. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) influence on the spatial structure of Micromammalia populations in the Conifer-Deciduous Forests of the Volga Upland. Trapping of mammals was carried out with traps Gero, geobotanical descriptions were made according to standard methods; the package Statistica 6.0 was used for results processing. It was revealed that mouse-like rodents did not avoid ant-trails despite the fact of the ants disturbance factor. Its presumably due to vegetation in the vicinity to anthills, the climate and the conditions created with the plants. The obtained results by the distribution of micromammalia burrows in the space allow us to speak about 2 groups of small mammals with different ecological strategy: gravitating which is near the ant-trails and anthills and careful which settle over a distance. The group core are probably individuals of the dominant species such as bank vole ( Cletrionomys glareolus ) and pygmy field mouse ( Apodemus uralensis ). The interaction of small mammals and ants in the mixed forests of the Volga Upland are mediated, apparently, with the influence of vegetation.