Genetic variation and population structure of the arboreal bicolored ant Tetraponera rufonigra Jerdon from selected urban locations in eastern Penang Island, Malaysia

Abstract

Tetraponera rufonigra, commonly known as the arboreal bicolored ant has gained its notoriety as one of the medically-important pest insects in Malaysia. T. rufonigra is recognizable by its excruciating sting, causing a severe anaphylaxis especially to those with the history of allergy. In this study, genetic diversity and population structure of T. rufonigra populations were examined based on a 503 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene. Specimens were collected from six different localities in urban areas in the eastern part of Penang Island. The six populations exhibited high pairwise genetic differentiation (FST), ranging from 0.42 to 1.00 and low gene flow (Nm), ranging from 0.00 to 0.69, except for populations of CSA and CH (FST=0.0, Nm=−1813.68). From AMOVA analysis, a high genetic variation was observed among populations i.e. 99.58% (FST=0.996 p=0.000±0.000). These results provided the basic information for entomologists to better understand the difference of genetic structure of T. rufonigra at a population level and can be further utilized to estimate the contributing factors in the genetic differentiation of this species in urban areas. Our results suggested that the population structure and the gene flow of T. rufonigra in some studied areas might have been affected by the dispersal ability of the insect, environmental conditions, and/or human-mediated dispersal, while, populations of other areas retained their gene flow. These findings might provide useful baseline information for the implementation of area-wide pest management as well as for further characterization of genetic variation and population structure of this medically-important pest.