Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the ant genus Formica L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Palearctic region

Abstract

Sixty-five sequences of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene fragment (759 bp) and 23 sequences of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 gene fragment (224 bp) were compared in ants of the genus Formica L. from different regions of the Palearctic and in Polyergus rufescens Latr. as outgroup. In total, 28 species of the genus Formica were examined. As a result, dated trees with a molecular clock were constructed showing the phylogenetic relationships of Formica ants. The topology of the obtained tree based on the Cyt-b sequences was found to be not consistent with the generally accepted opinion on the Formica rufa and F. rufibarbis groups. New data on the formation history of the present-day fauna of Formica ants of the Palearctic were obtained. It was demonstrated that a considerable fraction of the examined species (about a third) were formed in the Quaternary Period.