Ants within the tribe Amblyoponini are considered to possibly reflect a primitive stage in ant evolution. Resolution of the relationships within the tribe and determination of the monophyly of the tribe could greatly contribute to the understanding of ant evolution. By utilizing molecular techniques combined with morphological data, we hope to resolve some of the uncertainty of the taxonomic relationships of the tribe. By selecting different genes for preliminary research, we were able to assess the utility of each gene for phylogenetic signal. After analysis of each gene, it is apparent that the nuclear 28S gene may potentially lend the most information at the higher taxonomic levels once we expand the number of base pairs sequenced. The rRNA 12S gene is able to resolve the lower taxonomic levels, but secondary structure must still be accounted for. Although outwardly appearing well resolved, the COI mtDNA gene proved to be the least useful for the level of questions we are asking due to lack of bootstrap support. From the data provided from the different genes, as well as the combined gene tree, we can make certain inferences about some of the relationships of the ant genera within the tribe. Future plans include expanding the size of the 28S fragment, reconstructing the secondary structure for the 12S gene, and including a larger number of taxa in our phylogenetic analysis.
Keywords: none
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA