Ant-fungus mutualism

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Ant-fungus mutualism is a symbiosis seen in certain ant and fungal species, where ants actively cultivate fungus much like humans farm crops as a food source. Interestingly, in some species the ants and fungi are dependent on each other for survival. The Leafcutter ant is a well known example of this symbiosis. A mutualism with fungi is also noted in some species of termites in Africa[1]

The association between ants and fungi are complex and seem to involve a wide range of species. Studies now show that the fungi themselves may not be completely dependent on the ants. The fungi were earlier thought to be propagated by ants purely through clonal (vegetative) means. However considerable genetic variation in the fungi suggests that this may not be the case.[2]

Contents

This mutualism is thought to have originated in the basin of the Amazon rainforest some 50-65 million years ago. The attine ant species actively grow the fungal cultivar, much like human farming. The ants provide defense for the fungal garden and help propagate the fungus, and the fungus provides nutrients for the ants in specialized structures known as gongylidia. This mutualism is further complicated by the introduction of two other factors, a fungal parasite Escovopsis and a bacterial species residing on the ants' integuments that assists in defending the fungus from this parasite through the production of secondary metabolites.[3]

  • Attine ant species
  • Fungal species (Family: Lepiotaceae)
  • Fungal parasite (notably, Escovopsis)
  • Pseudonocardia:

  1. ^ Dawkins, Richard [1976] (1989). "You scratch my back, I'll ride yours", The Selfish Gene, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 180. ISBN 0-19-286092-5, LCC QH437.D38. “For example, several species of ants in the New World, and, quite independently, termites in Africa, cultivate 'fungus gardens'.” 
  2. ^ Mikheyev, S., U.G. Mueller, P. Abbott. 2006. Cryptic sex and many-to-one co-evolution in the fungus-growing ant symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 10702-10706. [1]
  3. ^ Cameron R. Currie, Bess Wong, Alison E. Stuart, Ted R. Schultz, Stephen A. Rehner, Ulrich G. Mueller, Gi-Ho Sung, Joseph W. Spatafora, and Neil A. Straus (2003) Ancient Tripartite Coevolution in the Attine Ant-Microbe Symbiosis. Science 299 (5605):386.


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