Significance: The energy-producing organelle mitochondrion contains its own compact genome, which is separate from the nuclear genome. In nearly all mammals, this mitochondrial genome is inherited exclusively from the mother, and transmission of paternal mitochondria or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has not been convincingly demonstrated in humans. In this paper, we have uncovered multiple instances of biparental inheritance of mtDNA spanning three unrelated multiple generation families, a result confirmed by independent sequencing across multiple unrelated laboratories with different methodologies. Surprisingly, this pattern of inheritance appears to be determined in an autosomal dominantlike manner. This paper profoundly alters a widespread belief about mitochondrial inheritance and potentially opens a novel field in mitochondrial medicine.

Ants are a highly successful family of insects that thrive in a variety of habitats across the world. Perhaps their best-known features are complex social organization and strict division of labor, separating reproduction from the day-to-day maintenance and care of the colony, as well as strict discrimination against foreign individuals. Since these social characteristics in ants are thought to be mediated by semiochemicals, a thorough analysis of these signals, and the receptors that detect them, is critical in revealing mechanisms that lead to stereotypic behaviors. To address these questions, we have defined and characterized the major chemoreceptor families in a pair of behaviorally and evolutionarily distinct ant species, Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator. Through comprehensive re-annotation, we show that these ant species harbor some of the largest yet known repertoires of odorant receptors (Ors) among insects, as well as a more modest number of gustatory receptors (Grs) and variant ionotropic glutamate receptors (Irs). Our phylogenetic analyses further demonstrate remarkably rapid gains and losses of ant Ors, while Grs and Irs have also experienced birth-and-death evolution to different degrees. In addition, comparisons of antennal transcriptomes between sexes identify many chemoreceptors that are differentially expressed between males and females and between species. We have also revealed an agonist for a worker-enriched OR from C. floridanus, representing the first case of a heterologously characterized ant tuning Or. Collectively, our analysis reveals a large number of ant chemoreceptors exhibiting patterns of differential expression and evolution consistent with sex/species-specific functions. These differentially expressed genes are likely associated with sex-based differences, as well as the radically different social lifestyles observed between C. floridanus and H. saltator, and thus are targets for further functional characterization. Our findings represent an important advance toward understanding the molecular basis of social interactions and the differential chemical ecologies among ant species. Chemical communication is an important factor in the regulation of social interaction in animals. The family of eusocial insects commonly known as ants offers an almost unique opportunity for examining the genetic basis for the chemosensory pathways that underlie ant sociality. In order to address this issue, we have manually and comprehensively reannotated the chemoreceptor repertoire in a pair of evolutionarily and behaviorally divergent ant species, Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator. In addition, we have used next-generation RNA sequencing to examine the chemosensory receptor transcriptome between males and females within these species. Our analysis demonstrates rapid gene birth-and-death for the ant odorant and gustatory receptor gene families, as well as clear differences in the expression of particular subsets of chemoreceptor genes between males and females. Finally, we have begun to examine the odor space within these discrete social units by heterologous characterization of the first C. floridanus odorant receptor that also exhibits sex-specific differential expression. Taken together, our results provide a foundation for future studies of the genetic basis for the chemical signaling and chemical ecology underlying the dramatically different social lifestyles exhibited by these and other species of ants.