<p><b><span style="font-size: mediumlarge"><b>Draft genome of the globally widespread and invasive Argentine ant (<em/b>Linepithema humile</emspan style="color: #800000">)</spanb>Argentine ant </b></pspan><div class="contributors"/span><ol idspan style="contribfont-group-1" class="contributor-list" jquery1296630888975="61size: medium"> <li id="contrib-1" class="contributor"b>(<span class="name"em>Linepithema humile<a class="name-search" href="http:/em>)</www.pnas.orgb></search?author1=Christopher+D.+Smith&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit"span>Christopher D. Smith</ap><p></spanb><a idspan style="xreffont-aff-1-1size: medium" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="63" href="http>Abstract:<//www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-1"span><sup/b>a</supp></ap id="p-4"><span classstyle="xreffont-sepsize: medium">Ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on Earth,and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. </span><a id="xref-corresp-1-1" class/p><p><span style="xreffont-corresp" href="httpsize://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#corresp-1medium"><sup>1Although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. </supspan></ap>,</lip> <li idspan style="contribfont-2" class="contributorsize: medium"><span class="name"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 class="name-search" href="http://wwwcombination of 454 (Roche) and Illumina sequencing and community-based funding rather than federal grant support.pnas.org</search?author1=Aleksey+Zimin&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit"span>Aleksey Zimin</ap></spanp><a idspan style="xref-aff-3font-size: medium">Manual annotation of &gt;1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="64" href="http://www.pnas.org,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</contentem> and <em>Nasonia vitripennis</early/2011/01/26/1008617108em>.abstract#aff-3"><sup>b</supspan></a>,</lip> <li id="contrib-3" class="contributor"p><span classstyle="namefont-size: medium"><a class="nameDistinctive features of the Argentine ant genome include remarkable expansions of gustatory (116 genes) and odorant receptors (367 genes), an abundance of cytochrome P450 genes (&gt;110), lineage-search" href="http:specific expansions of yellow//wwwmajor royal jelly proteins and desaturases, and complete CpG DNA methylation and RNAi toolkits.pnas.org</search?author1=Carson+Holt&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit"span>Carson Holt</ap></spanp><a idspan style="xreffont-aff-5-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="65" href="httpsize://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-5medium">The Argentine ant genome contains fewer immune genes than <supem>cDrosophila</supem>and <em>Tribolium</aem>,which may reflect the prominent role played by behavioral and chemical suppression of pathogens. </lispan></p> <li id="contrib-4" class="contributor"p><span classstyle="namefont-size: medium">Analysis of the ratio of observed to expected CpG nucleotides for genes in the reproductive development and apoptosis pathways suggests <a classspan style="name-searchcolor: #993300" href="http:>higher levels of methylation than <//wwwspan>in the genome overall.pnas.org</search?author1=Ehab+Abouheif&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit"span>Ehab Abouheif</ap></spanp><a idspan style="xreffont-aff-6-1size: medium" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="66" href="http://www>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.pnas.org</contentspan></early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6"p><supp>d&nbsp;</supp><p><br /a>,&nbsp;</lip> <li id="contrib-5" class="contributor"p><span class="name"br /><a class="name-search" href="httpAuthors:<//www.pnas.org/search?author1=Richard+Bentonp><p>&ampnbsp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Richard Benton</ap></spanp><a id="xref-aff-7-Christopher D. Smitha,1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="67" href="http:, <br />Aleksey Ziminb, <br /www.pnas.org>Carson Holtc, <br /content>Ehab Abouheifd, <br /early>Richard Bentone, <br /2011/01/26>Elizabeth Cashf, <br /1008617108.abstract#aff-7">Vincent Crosete, <supbr />eCameron R. Currieg,h, <br /sup>Eran Elhaiki, <br /a>Christine G. Elsikj,<br /li> Marie-Julie Faved, <li id="contrib-6" class="contributor"br />Vilaiwan Fernandesd, <span class="name"br />J&uuml;rgen Gadauf, <a class="name-search" href="http:br //www>Joshua D.pnas.orgGibsonf, <br />Dan Graurk, <br /search?author1=Elizabeth+Cash&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Elizabeth CashKirk J. Grubbsf, <br /a>Darren E. Hagenj, <br /span>Martin Helmkampff, <a id="xrefbr />Jo-aff-8-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="68" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01Anne Holleyl, <br /26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">Hao Huc, <supbr />fAna Sofia Ibarraran Viniegrad, <br /sup><Brian R. Johnsonm, <br /a>Reed M. Johnsonl,<br /li> Abderrahman Khilad, <li id="contrib-7" class="contributor"br />Jay W. Kima, <span class="name"br />Joseph Lairdl, <a class="name-search" href="http:br //www>Kaitlyn A.pnas.orgMathism, <br /search?author1=Vincent+Croset&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Vincent CrosetJoseph A. Moellerg,h, <br /a>Monica C. Mu&ntilde;oz-Torresj, <br /span><a id="xref-aff-7-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="69" href="http://wwwMarguerite C.pnas.orgMurphyn, <br /content>Rin Nakamuraa, <br /early>Surabhi Nigamn, <br /2011>Rick P. Oversonf, <br /01/26/1008617108>Jennifer E.abstract#aff-7">Placeka, <supbr />eRajendhran Rajakumard, <br /sup>Justin T. Reesej, <br /a>Hugh M. Robertsonl,o,<br /li> Chris R. Smithp, <li id="contrib-8" class="contributor"br />Andrew V. Suarezl,o, <br />Garret Sueng,h, <span class="name"br />Elissa L. Suhrl, <a class="name-search" href="http:br />Shu Taoj, <br /www>Candice W.pnas.orgTorresm, <br /search?author1=Cameron+R.+Currie&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Cameron R. CurrieEllen van Wilgenburgm, <br /a>Lumi Viljakainenq, <br /span>Kimberly K. O. Waldenl, <a id="xref-aff-9-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="70" href="http:br />Alexander L. Wildl, <br />Mark Yandellc, <br /www>James A.pnas.orgYorker, and <br /content>Neil D. Tsutsuim,1 <br /early>+ Author Affiliations</2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-9"p><supp>g<br /sup>Departments of aBiology and</ap><span class="xref-sep"p>nComputer Science,</spanSan Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132;</p><p>bInstitute for Physical Science and Technology and<a id="xref-aff-10-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="71" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-10"p><supp>hrDepartment of Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742;</supp></ap>cDepartment of Human Genetics, Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine,Salt Lake City, UT 84112;</lip> <li id="contrib-9" class="contributor"p><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Eran+Elhaik&amp;sortspec=date&ampdDepartment of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1;submit=Submit">Eran Elhaik</ap></spanp>eCenter for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;<a id="xref-aff-11-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="72" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-11"p><p><sup>ifSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287;</supp></ap>,gDepartment of Bacteriology and</lip> <li id="contrib-10" class="contributor"p>hDepartment of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706;<span class="name"/p><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Christine+G.+Elsik&ampp>iThe Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Christine G. Elsik</ap></spanp><a id="xref-aff-12-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="73" href="http:jDepartment of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057;<//www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-12"><sup>jp><p>kDepartment of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204;</supp></ap>,lDepartment of Entomology and</lip> <li id="contrib-11" class="contributor"p>oInstitute of Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana&ndash;Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;</p><span class="name"p><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=MariemDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-Julie+Fave&amp;sortspec=date&amp3114;submit=Submit">Marie-Julie Fave</ap><p>pDepartment of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374; and</spanp><a id="xref-aff-6-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="74" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6">^d</a>p>qDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca,NY 14853<br /li> <li id="contrib-12" class="contributor"Edited* by Gene E. Robinson, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, and approved January 11, 2011 (received for review June 17, 2010)</p><span class="name"p>&nbsp;</p><a class="name-search" href="p>http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Vilaiwan+Fernandes&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Vilaiwan Fernandes<content/early/2011/a></span><a id="xref-aff-6-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="75" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/0101/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6">^d</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-13" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=J%C3%BCrgen+Gadau&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">J&uuml;rgen Gadau</a></span><a id="xref-aff-8-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="76" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">^f</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-14" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Joshua+D.+Gibson&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Joshua D. Gibson</a></span><a id="xref-aff-8-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="77" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">^f</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-15" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Dan+Graur&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Dan Graur</a></span><a id="xref-aff-13-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="78" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-13">^k</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-16" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Kirk+J.+Grubbs&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Kirk J. Grubbs</a></span><a id="xref-aff-8-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="79" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">^f</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-17" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Darren+E.+Hagen&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Darren E. Hagen</a></span><a id="xref-aff-12-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="80" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-12">^j</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-18" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Martin+Helmkampf&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Martin Helmkampf</a></span><a id="xref-aff-8-5" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="81" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">^f</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-19" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Jo-Anne+Holley&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Jo-Anne Holley</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="82" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-20" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Hao+Hu&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Hao Hu</a></span><a id="xref-aff-5-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="83" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-5">^c</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-21" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Ana+Sofia+Ibarraran+Viniegra&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Ana Sofia Ibarraran Viniegra</a></span><a id="xref-aff-6-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="84" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6">^d</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-22" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Brian+R.+Johnson&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Brian R. Johnson</a></span><a id="xref-aff-16-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="85" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-16">^m</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-23" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Reed+M.+Johnson&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Reed M. Johnson</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="86" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-24" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Abderrahman+Khila&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Abderrahman Khila</a></span><a id="xref-aff-6-5" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="87" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6">^d</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-25" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Jay+W.+Kim&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Jay W. Kim</a></span><a id="xref-aff-1-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="88" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-1">^a</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-26" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Joseph+Laird&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Joseph Laird</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="89" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-27" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Kaitlyn+A.+Mathis&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Kaitlyn A. Mathis</a></span><a id="xref-aff-16-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="90" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-16">^m</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-28" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Joseph+A.+Moeller&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Joseph A. Moeller</a></span><a id="xref-aff-9-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="91" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-9">^g</a><span class="xref-sep">,</span><a id="xref-aff-10-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="92" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-10">^h</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-29" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Monica+C.+Mu%C3%B1oz-Torres&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Monica C. Mu&ntilde;oz-Torres</a></span><a id="xref-aff-12-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="93" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-12">^j</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-30" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Marguerite+C.+Murphy&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Marguerite C. Murphy</a></span><a id="xref-aff-2-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="94" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-2">ⁿ</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-31" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Rin+Nakamura&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Rin Nakamura</a></span><a id="xref-aff-1-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="95" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-1">^a</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-32" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Surabhi+Nigam&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Surabhi Nigam</a></span><a id="xref-aff-2-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="96" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-2">ⁿ</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-33" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Rick+P.+Overson&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Rick P. Overson</a></span><a id="xref-aff-8-6" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="97" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-8">^f</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-34" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Jennifer+E.+Placek&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Jennifer E. Placek</a></span><a id="xref-aff-1-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="98" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-1">^a</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-35" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Rajendhran+Rajakumar&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Rajendhran Rajakumar</a></span><a id="xref-aff-6-6" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="99" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-6">^d</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-36" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Justin+T.+Reese&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Justin T. Reese</a></span><a id="xref-aff-12-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="100" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-12">^j</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-37" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Hugh+M.+Robertson&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Hugh M. Robertson</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="101" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a><span class="xref-sep">,</span><a id="xref-aff-15-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="102" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-15">^o</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-38" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Chris+R.+Smith&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Chris R. Smith</a></span><a id="xref-aff-17-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="103" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-17">^p</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-39" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Andrew+V.+Suarez&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Andrew V. Suarez</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-5" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="104" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a><span class="xref-sep">,</span><a id="xref-aff-15-2" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="105" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-15">^o</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-40" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Garret+Suen&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Garret Suen</a></span><a id="xref-aff-9-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="106" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-9">^g</a><span class="xref-sep">,</span><a id="xref-aff-10-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="107" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-10">^h</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-41" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Elissa+L.+Suhr&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Elissa L. Suhr</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-6" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="108" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-42" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Shu+Tao&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Shu Tao</a></span><a id="xref-aff-12-5" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="109" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-12">^j</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-43" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Candice+W.+Torres&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Candice W. Torres</a></span><a id="xref-aff-16-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="110" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-16">^m</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-44" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Ellen+van+Wilgenburg&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Ellen van Wilgenburg</a></span><a id="xref-aff-16-4" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="111" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-16">^m</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-45" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Lumi+Viljakainen&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Lumi Viljakainen</a></span><a id="xref-aff-18-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="112" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-18">^q</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-46" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Kimberly+K.+O.+Walden&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Kimberly K. O. Walden</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-7" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="113" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-47" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Alexander+L.+Wild&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Alexander L. Wild</a></span><a id="xref-aff-14-8" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="114" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-14">^l</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-48" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Mark+Yandell&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Mark Yandell</a></span><a id="xref-aff-5-3" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="115" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-5">^c</a>,</li> <li id="contrib-49" class="contributor"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=James+A.+Yorke&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">James A. Yorke</a></span><a id="xref-aff-4-1" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="116" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-4">^r</a>, and</li> <li id="contrib-50" class="last"><span class="name"><a class="name-search" href="http://www.pnas.org/search?author1=Neil+D.+Tsutsui&amp;sortspec=date&amp;submit=Submit">Neil D. Tsutsui</a></span><a id="xref-aff-16-5" class="xref-aff" jquery1296630888975="117" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#aff-16">^m</a><span class="xref-sep">,</span><a id="xref-corresp-1-2" class="xref-corresp" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#corresp-1">¹</a></li></ol><p class="affiliation-list-reveal"><a class="view-more" jquery1296630888975="62" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#">+</a> Author Affiliations</p><ol class="affiliation-list hideaffil" jquery1296630888975="60"> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-1" name="aff-1"></a> <address>Departments of ^aBiology and</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-2" name="aff-2"></a> <address>ⁿComputer Science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-3" name="aff-3"></a> <address>^bInstitute for Physical Science and Technology and</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-4" name="aff-4"></a> <address>^rDepartment of Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-5" name="aff-5"></a> <address>^cDepartment of Human Genetics, Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84112;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-6" name="aff-6"></a> <address>^dDepartment of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-7" name="aff-7"></a> <address>^eCenter for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-8" name="aff-8"></a> <address>^fSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-9" name="aff-9"></a> <address>^gDepartment of Bacteriology and</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-10" name="aff-10"></a> <address>^hDepartment of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-11" name="aff-11"></a> <address>ⁱThe Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-12" name="aff-12"></a> <address>^jDepartment of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-13" name="aff-13"></a> <address>^kDepartment of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-14" name="aff-14"></a> <address>^lDepartment of Entomology and</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-15" name="aff-15"></a> <address>^oInstitute of Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana&ndash;Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-16" name="aff-16"></a> <address>^mDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114;</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-17" name="aff-17"></a> <address>^pDepartment of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374; and</address> </li> <li class="aff"><a id="aff-18" name="aff-18"></a> <address>^qDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853</address> </li></ol><ol class="fn-track"> <li id="fn-1" class="fn-edited-by"> <p id="p-1">Edited<a id="xref-fn-4-1" class="xref-fn" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/26/1008617108.abstract#fn-4">*</a> by Gene E. Robinson, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, and approved January 11, 2011 (received for review June 17, 2010)</p> </li></ol></div><div id="abstract-1" class="section abstract"><h2>Abstract</h2><p id="p-4"><span style="font-size: medium">Ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on Earth, and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. Although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. 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. Manual annotation of &gt;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>. 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 (&gt;110), lineage-specific expansions of yellow/major royal jelly proteins and desaturases, and complete CpG DNA methylation and RNAi toolkits. 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. Analysis of the ratio of observed to expected CpG nucleotides for genes in the reproductive development and apoptosis pathways suggests higher levels of methylation than in the genome overall. 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>full.pdf+html</p>