Transmission of fungal partners to incipient Cecropia-tree ant colonies

PloS One
Veronika E MayerHermann Voglmayr

Abstract

Ascomycete fungi in the nests of ants inhabiting plants (= myrmecophytes) are very often cultivated by the ants in small patches and used as food source. Where these fungi come from is not known yet. Two scenarios of fungus recruitment are possible: (1) random infection through spores or hyphal fragments from the environment, or (2) transmission from mother to daughter colonies by the foundress queen. It is also not known at which stage of the colony life cycle fungiculture is initiated, and whether the- symbiont fungi serve as food for the ant queen. To clarify these questions, we investigated four Azteca ant species inhabiting three different Cecropia species (C. insignis, C. obtusifolia, and C. peltata). We analysed an rRNA gene fragment from 52 fungal patches produced by founding queens and compared them with those from established Azteca colonies (n = 54). The infrabuccal pockets of winged queens were dissected to investigate whether young queens carry fungi from their mother colony. Additionally, 15N labelling experiments were done to verify whether the queen feeds on the patches until she is nourished by her first worker offspring. We infer from the results that the fungi cultivated in hollow plant structures are transfe...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 8, 2019·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Jane M LucasEmily K Meineke
Nov 9, 2019·Insects·Mario X Ruiz-GonzálezJérôme Orivel
Dec 21, 2018·Scientific Reports·Peter R MartingStephen C Pratt
Mar 7, 2021·Insects·Igor SiedleckiMarta Wrzosek

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