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<p><b><span style="font-size: medium">Draft genome of the globally widespread and invasive Argentine ant (<em>Linepithema humile</em>)</span></b></p>
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<p>Abstract:</p>
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<p id="p-4"><span style="font-size: small">Ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on Earth, and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">Although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">Here, we report the draft genome sequence of a particularly widespread and well-studied species, the invasive Argentine ant (<em>Linepithema humile</em>), which was accomplished using a combination of 454 (Roche) and Illumina sequencing and community-based funding rather than federal grant support. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">Manual annotation of >1,000 genes from a variety of different gene families and functional classes reveals unique features of the Argentine ant's biology, as well as similarities to <em>Apis mellifera</em> and <em>Nasonia vitripennis</em>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">Distinctive features of the Argentine ant genome include remarkable expansions of gustatory (116 genes) and odorant receptors (367 genes), an abundance of cytochrome P450 genes (>110), lineage-specific expansions of yellow/major royal jelly proteins and desaturases, and complete CpG DNA methylation and RNAi toolkits. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">The Argentine ant genome contains fewer immune genes than <em>Drosophila</em> and <em>Tribolium</em>, which may reflect the prominent role played by behavioral and chemical suppression of pathogens. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">Analysis of the ratio of observed to expected CpG nucleotides for genes in the reproductive development and apoptosis pathways suggests <span style="color: #993300">higher levels of methylation than </span>in the genome overall. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small">The resources provided by this genome sequence will offer an abundance of tools for researchers seeking to illuminate the fascinating biology of this emerging model organism.</span></p>