Some sixty-six million years ago, a falling rock ended the reign of the dinosaurs and left a wounded world open to new beginnings. Among those who inherited that opening were the ants, now the largest family of social insects, and a study in Science Advances suggests that a part of their own genome, once dismissed as mere genetic baggage, may have helped carry them forward. It is a reminder that what looks like parasite can sometimes become an engine of change, and that the deep past of a species can be written in the restless DNA it carries.
Asteroid-Era Jumping Genes May Have Helped Ants Diversify Into Earth's Most Successful Social Insects
DNA once dismissed as parasitic may have helped ants flourish
Mark
So what's the basic claim here?
Mimi
That bursts of jumping gene activity right after the asteroid impact came just before ant lineages split into thousands of species.
Mark
And jumping genes were once considered junk?
Mimi
Closer to parasites. They copy themselves without helping the host, and sometimes they contribute to disease. The newer view is that they can also fuel change.
Luke
Let me slow us down. The evidence described is a correlation: more jumping genes, more species. Does the reporting show they caused the diversification?
Mimi
Not directly. The researchers call it a mechanism, and the timing supports that, but the account here is of association and sequence.
Mark
What about the smell receptors?
Mimi
The team found a link between jumping genes and expanded odorant receptor gene families. Ants lean on chemical cues for navigation and colony recognition, so that fits the social story.
Luke
Note the hedge, though. The findings suggest jumping genes may have contributed. That's not a demonstrated effect on ant behavior.
Mark
And the sample?
Mimi
163 species, twelve of 16 subfamilies, so broad coverage. Similar patterns have been reported in primates and bats.
Luke
Which is encouraging, but we don't know from this account how those earlier cases compare in strength.
The Pulse
- An asteroid strike about 66 million years ago upended the planet, and the scramble that followed reshaped which lineages would survive and spread.
- Researchers at the University of Münster, led by Dr. Lukas Schrader, compared 163 ant species to test whether restless DNA fueled their rise.
- Lineages carrying more jumping genes tend to hold more species today, and their activity surged just before major diversification bursts.
- The findings point to expanded odorant receptor families, suggesting ants may have sharpened their chemical senses to better navigate and coordinate their colonies.
- The same link between jumping genes and new species has appeared in primates and bats, hinting at a broader pattern still being mapped.
Some sixty-six million years ago, a falling rock ended the reign of the dinosaurs and left a wounded world open to new beginnings. Among those who inherited that opening were the ants, now the largest family of social insects, and a study in Science Advances suggests that a part of their own genome, once dismissed as mere genetic baggage, may have helped carry them forward. It is a reminder that what looks like parasite can sometimes become an engine of change, and that the deep past of a species can be written in the restless DNA it carries.
Roughly 66 million years ago, an asteroid struck Earth and brought the age of the dinosaurs to an end. The mass extinction that followed cleared space for countless creatures to evolve and spread, and ants became some of the greatest beneficiaries. Today they form the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species, and a new study in Science Advances points to an unexpected genetic ingredient behind their rise.
The international team, led by Dr. Lukas Schrader of the University of Münster, focused on transposable elements, or jumping genes. These DNA segments can move within a genome and copy themselves. For years they were viewed mainly as genomic parasites, but researchers now see they can also open paths to evolutionary change.
To test this, the scientists compared the genomes of 163 ant species spanning twelve of the sixteen surviving subfamilies, tracing how these elements shifted over the past 100 million years. Two patterns stood out: lineages rich in jumping genes tended to have more species today, and several major groups surged in jumping gene activity during the early Paleogene, shortly before their diversification took off.
The team also found links to gene families that govern odorant receptors, the molecular tools ants use to read smells. Chemical cues guide ants as they navigate, recognize colony mates, and coordinate work, so expanded receptor families may have helped sharpen the signals that hold their societies together. Similar patterns have appeared in primates and bats, and the ant study adds a well-dated example of DNA once written off as parasitic helping a successful group flourish.
Roughly 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth and ended the age of the dinosaurs. The mass extinction that followed cleared ground for countless animals to evolve and spread. Ants eventually became one of the great beneficiaries, and a new study in Science Advances points to a surprising genetic ingredient in their rise.
Today ants make up the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species worldwide. The international study, led by Dr. Lukas Schrader of the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster in Germany, argues that their success was partly driven by transposable elements, better known as jumping genes.
Jumping genes are stretches of DNA that can move to new locations within a genome and make extra copies of themselves. For years scientists regarded them mainly as genomic parasites. Like viruses, they can multiply without offering their host any obvious benefit, and in some cases their activity contributes to disease. More recently, researchers have come to see that these mobile elements can also open routes to evolutionary change.
To test the idea in ants, the team examined and compared the genomes of 163 ant species. Those species represent twelve of the 16 ant subfamilies that survive today. Using the comparisons, the scientists reconstructed how transposable elements changed in number and activity over the past 100 million years.
Two patterns emerged. Ant lineages carrying the most jumping genes also tended to be the ones with the most species today. And the timing mattered: several major lineages showed separate surges in jumping gene activity during the early Paleogene, around 66 million years ago. Those bursts came shortly before each group expanded into the thousands of species now alive.
Schrader framed the finding as a link between catastrophe and diversification. The asteroid impact, he explained, had dramatic consequences for the environment, and the researchers believe they have found the genomic mechanism connecting that upheaval to the rapid diversification that followed: transposable elements.
The team also found a connection between jumping genes and the growth of gene families involved in chemical communication, especially those coding for odorant receptors. These receptors let ants detect and respond to smells, and they underpin nearly every part of ant social life. Ants rely on chemical cues to navigate, to recognize members of their own colony, and to coordinate with one another. The results suggest jumping genes may have helped expand these sensory systems, potentially sharpening how well ants read the chemical messages that hold their societies together.
Ants are not alone in showing this kind of pattern. Earlier studies have tied periods of heightened jumping gene activity to the emergence of new species in other groups, including primates and bats. The ant work adds a well-dated case, suggesting that DNA once written off as parasitic may have helped one of Earth's most successful insect groups flourish.
Notable Quotes
The asteroid impact had dramatic environmental consequences, and transposable elements are the genomic mechanism connecting that upheaval to the ants' rapid diversification.— Dr. Lukas Schrader, University of Münster (paraphrased)
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