The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have helped ants conquer the world

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have set the stage for ants to conquer the planet, with a surprising boost from “jumping genes” hidden in their DNA. Scientists discovered that bursts of activity from these mobile genetic elements coincided with the rise of major ant groups and may have helped sharpen their extraordinary ability to communicate through smell. The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have helped ants conquer the world.

The mass extinction that followed created opportunities for countless other animals to evolve and spread. Ants were among the groups that eventually became remarkably successful, and scientists have now identified a surprising genetic factor that may have helped fuel their rise. Today, ants are the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species found around the world.

New research published in Science Advances suggests that their extraordinary evolutionary success was partly driven by mobile segments of DNA known as transposable elements, or "jumping genes." The international study was led by Dr. Lukas Schrader of the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity (IEB) at the University of Münster (Germany). How "Jumping Genes" Helped Ants Evolve Jumping genes are pieces of DNA that can move to different locations within a genome and produce additional copies of themselves.