High-throughput phenomics of global ant biodiversity.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Morphology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• The big data era in biology has not yet fully impacted organismal form studies.
• Digitizing whole organisms using imaging is limited by low throughput, hindering morphological diversity documentation.
• Ants are an ecologically dominant insect group, ideal for studying morphological diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply high-throughput synchrotron X-ray microtomography for capturing ant phenotypes.
• To create a comprehensive 3D digital dataset of ant morphology for broad phylogenetic coverage.
• To facilitate phenomic data integration with genome sequencing projects.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput synchrotron X-ray microtomography was used to scan ant specimens.
• Standardized scanning parameters were employed for automated analysis.
• A total of 2,193 whole-body 3D ant datasets were generated from 212 genera and 792 species.

Main Results:

• The Antscan initiative provides 2,193 3D ant datasets, covering a broad phylogenetic scope globally.
• The datasets are paired with genome sequencing projects, enabling integrated analyses.
• Standardized scans facilitate automated analysis and methods development.

Conclusions:

• Antscan offers a scalable approach for creating diverse anatomical libraries.
• The initiative heralds a new era for studying the evolution, structure, and function of organismal phenotypes.
• Free data access broadens audience engagement and incentivizes further research.