Yoann’s super-analysis of the mega-dataset of odorant receptors (ORs) based on the huge collection of 163 ant genomes from the Global Ant Genomics Aliance (GAGA) was just publised in Molecular Biology and Evolution (so many accronyms!) This is an amazing dataset, of unprecedented breadth and quality, and Yoann conducted highly challenging, intensive and sophisticated analyses, including methodological innovations. Yoann developed a novel analysis pipeline for inference of positive selection in large gene families:
The result is unprecedented detail in the inference of adaptive evolution in this super gene family. This level of detail allowed us to see that specifically worker polymorphism is a trait that is associated with adaptive evolution of ORs in multiple ant lineages (see the red and brown pentagons on the phylogeny in the figure above)
