Demography and adaptation of a species specific pollinator associated with an invasive fig tree

Some fig species introduced outside of their native range have become invasive when colonized by their obligate pollinating wasps, but how these pollinators migrated and adapted to novel environments are less studied. Here, we focus on Eupristina verticillata, the obligate pollinating wasp of an invasive fig tree species (Ficus microcarpa), to uncover its demography and the molecular basis for adaptations to novel environments. We find that only one of the three cryptic species colonized in the sampling locations outside of its native range. This dominant cryptic species migrated simultaneously from the native range to the Americas and to the Mediterranean c. 130 years ago. Moreover, selective sweep analyses reveal several positively selected genes associated with adaptations to the nonnative range. Genome-wide association detect a nonsynonymous substitution in a dopamine N-acetyltransferase gene significantly linked with brood size. Our study outlines the route to colonization and genetic adaptations of an invasive mutualism.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Biology
Published
2025-09-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08733-1
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Plant and animal studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.03
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article

Demography and adaptation of a species specific pollinator associated with an invasive fig tree

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1 citations
Communications Biology
Plant and animal studies
3.03
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Demography and adaptation of a species specific pollinator associated with an invasive fig tree

Kaijian Zhang, Stephen G. Compton, Simon T. Segar, Yuting Jiang, Simon van Noort, Rong Wang, Weimin Xiang, Kai Jiang, Yuanye Zhang, Jie Zou, Gang Wang, Xiaoyong Chen, Weichao Liu, Yuan-Yuan Li, Li-Hua Wu, Ling Lü
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Some fig species introduced outside of their native range have become invasive when colonized by their obligate pollinating wasps, but how these pollinators migrated and adapted to novel environments are less studied. Here, we focus on Eupristina verticillata, the obligate pollinating wasp of an invasive fig tree species (Ficus microcarpa), to uncover its demography and the molecular basis for adaptations to novel environments. We find that only one of the three cryptic species colonized in the sampling locations outside of its native range. This dominant cryptic species migrated simultaneously from the native range to the Americas and to the Mediterranean c. 130 years ago. Moreover, selective sweep analyses reveal several positively selected genes associated with adaptations to the nonnative range. Genome-wide association detect a nonsynonymous substitution in a dopamine N-acetyltransferase gene significantly linked with brood size. Our study outlines the route to colonization and genetic adaptations of an invasive mutualism.

Communications BiologyVol. 8(1)
University of Leeds (GB), Ecolab (United Kingdom) (GB), University of Cape Town (ZA), Xiamen University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Iziko Museums of South Africa (ZA), Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (CN), Novogene Bioinformatics Institute (CN), Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center (CN), East China Normal University (CN), Harper Adams University (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Plant and animal studies
3.03
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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