The amplification of CYP9 genes as a preadaptation of the black garden ant Lasius niger to urban conditions

Abstract

Ants are one of the most ancient and successful groups of eusocial animals and they are spread all over the world. The nucleotide sequences of the genomes of eight ant species were determined by the year 2014. In these species, the mechanisms of ecological success, cast differentiation, and social communication were studied at genomic level. In ants, the genes of the cytochromes P450 involved in metabolism of xenobiotics and various endogenic substances are amplified. Although the substrates for several cytochrome P450 families have been identified, the functions of the ninth family, which is one of the most amplified, remain unknown. The black garden ant Lasius niger is one of the spices that have successfully adapted to urban conditions. To study the mechanisms of adaptation, we have read and annotated the nucleotide sequence of the L. niger genome; we have predicted the functions of the CYP9 genes using virtual screening. The obtained data allow us to suggest that cytochromes P450 are involved in the metabolism of various xenobiotics such as phytotoxins, mycotoxins, and insecticides. We assume that the functional divergence of the new CYP9 duplications was initially aimed at developing resistance to various mycotoxins, in particular to those produced by Fusarium fungi and, subsequently, to other xenobiotics.