Phylogenomic reconstruction reveals new insights into the evolution and biogeography of Atta leaf-cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Atta Fabricius is an ecologically dominant leaf-cutting ant genus, the major herbivore of the Neotropics, and an agricultural pest of great economic importance. Phylogenetic relationships within Atta have until now remained uncertain, and the delimitation and identification of a subset of Atta species are problematic. To address these phylogenetic uncertainties, we reconstruct the most comprehensive phylogenetic estimate to date of Atta by employing ultraconserved elements (UCEs). We recovered 2340 UCE loci from 224 Atta specimens, which include 14 out of the 15 identifiable species from across their geographic distributions, and 49 outgroup specimens. Our results strongly support the monophyly of Atta and of the four clades that coincide with the previously recognized subgenera Archeatta Gonçalves, Atta s.s. Emery, Epiatta Borgmeier, and Neoatta Gonçalves. The Archeatta clade contains three species occurring in North and Central America and the Caribbean and is the sister group of the ...

阿塔切叶蚁属（Atta Fabricius）是具有生态主导地位的切叶蚁类群，为新热带区的主要草食性动物，同时也是具有重大经济影响的农业害虫。迄今，阿塔切叶蚁属内的系统发育关系仍未明确，且部分阿塔切叶蚁物种的界定与鉴定存在难题。为解决这些系统发育相关的不确定性，本研究利用超保守元件（ultraconserved elements, UCEs）构建了迄今为止最全面的阿塔切叶蚁属系统发育推断结果。本研究从224份阿塔切叶蚁标本中获取了2340个UCE位点，这些标本涵盖了该属地理分布范围内已被识别的15个物种中的14个，同时纳入了49份外类群标本。研究结果有力支持了阿塔切叶蚁属及其4个演化支的单系性，这4个演化支与此前被认可的4个亚属相吻合：Archeatta Gonçalves、狭义阿塔切叶蚁亚属（Atta s.s. Emery）、Epiatta Borgmeier以及Neoatta Gonçalves。Archeatta演化支包含分布于北美、中美洲及加勒比地区的3个物种，是……的姊妹群。