Jumping genes fueled ants' rise to dominance after the dinosaurs died
"Jumping genes" helped ants evolve after the extinction of the dinosaurs
When the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs hit 66 million years ago, ants seized the moment and became one of Earth's most successful animal families. A University of Münster-led team compared the genomes of 163 ant species and found that the lineages carrying the most transposable elements — mobile "jumping genes" once dismissed as genomic parasites — are the most species-rich today. Independent bursts of jumping-gene activity struck just before the largest ant groups diversified, possibly supercharging the odorant receptors ants rely on to recognize nestmates and run their colonies.
The asteroid impact had dramatic consequences for the environment. We have now found the genomic mechanism that connects these ecological upheavals to the subsequent rapid diversification of the ants: transposable elements.