Ants, plants and antibiotics

@article{Schultz1999AntsPA,
  title={Ants, plants and antibiotics},
  author={Ted R. Schultz},
  journal={Nature},
  year={1999},
  volume={398},
  pages={747-748}
}
Leaf-cutting ants cultivate a mushroom from the fungal tribe Leucocoprini as a source of food. But a new study shows that there is another partner in this mutually beneficial relationship -- a bacterium from the genusStreptomyces, which produces antibiotics to prevent infestation of the ant garden by the fungal parasite Escovopsis. 
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32 Citations

An Overview of Integrated Management of Leaf-Cutting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Brazilian Forest Plantations

Brazilian forest producers have developed integrated management programs to increase the effectiveness of the control of leaf-cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. These measures reduced…

A community of ants, fungi, and bacteria: a multilateral approach to studying symbiosis.

  • C. Currie
  • Biology
    Annual review of microbiology
  • 2001
The attine symbiosis appears to be a coevolutionary "arms race" between the garden parasite Escovopsis on the one hand and the ant-fungus-actinomycete tripartite mutualism on the other, indicating that microbes may be key components in the regulation of other symbiotic associations between higher organisms.

A COMMUNITY OF ANTS , FUNGI , AND BACTERIA : A Multilateral Approach to Studying Symbiosis

The attine symbiosis appears to be a coevolutionary “arms race” between the garden parasite Escovopsis on the one hand and the ant-fungus-actinomycete tripartite mutualism on the other, indicating that microbes may be key components in the regulation of other symbiotic associations between higher organisms.

Antimicrobial Activity of Microorganisms Isolated from Ant Nests of Lasius niger

In this study, the microbial communities of two nests of black garden ants (Lasius niger) in the hollows of stem branches of old apple trees were found to have similar species compositions: each…

Streptomyces ASSOCIADOS A FORMIGAS DA TRIBO ATTINI E SEUS EFEITOS SOBRE OS FUNGOS Escovopsis weberi E OUTROS MICRORGANISMOS

There are different species of Streptomyces within Attini genera showing the same inhibitory potential towards the microfungus E. weberi, and in spite of phylogenetic analyses have grouped Attini isolates in different clades, the activity of the antimicrobial compounds produced by these bacteria had a high degree of homogenicity over E.Weberi.

The ecology and evolution of a quadripartite symbiosis, examining the interactions among Attine ants, fungi, and actinomycetes

It now appears that the attine symbiosis is a CO-evoutionary 'arms race' between the garden parasite Escovopsis, on the one hand, and the tripartite association amongst the actinomycete, the ants and the fungal mutualist on the other.

Variable microsatellite loci for the leafcutter ant Acromyrmex echinatior and their applicability to related species

Variable microsatellite loci for the leaf cutter ant Acromyrmex echinatior and their applicability to related species

The importance of leaf- and litter-feeding invertebrates as sources of animal protein for the Amazonian Amerindians

It is shown that the consumption of leaf– and litter–feeding invertebrates as a means of recovering protein, fat and vitamins by the forest–living peoples offers a new perspective for the development of sustainable animal food production within the paradigm of biodiversity maintenance.

Leaf-cutting ants revisited: Towards rational management and control

This review summarizes current concepts of the biological and ecological importance of leaf-cutting ants and provides a general overview of control measures.

Evolutionary Ecology: Wasp Mother's Little Helpers

References

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The evolution of agriculture in ants

These patterns indicate that fungus-growing ants succeeded at domesticating multiple cultivars, that the ants are capable of switching to novel cultivar, that single ant species farm a diversity of cultivars and that cultivars are shared occasionally between distantly related ant species, probably by lateral transfer between ant colonies.

Fungus-growing ants use antibiotic-producing bacteria to control garden parasites

A new, third mutualist in this symbiosis is described, a filamentous bacterium (actinomycete) of the genus Streptomyces that produces antibiotics specifically targeted to suppress the growth of the specialized garden-parasite Escovopsis.

Evolutionary History of the Symbiosis Between Fungus-Growing Ants and Their Fungi

The evolutionary history of the symbiosis between fungus-growing ants (Attini) and their fungi was elucidated by comparing phylogenies of both symbionts, andylogenetic patterns suggest that some primitive attines may have repeatedly acquired lepiotaceous symbions.

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I DELAYED answering your kind letter of January 1 till I should have had an opportunity of examining once more some nests of leaf-cutting ants, to which you had directed my attention. In the meantime…

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Beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read, this classic book describes the geography, geology, ecology, flora, fauna, and native inhabitants of Nicaragua in the nineteenth century.

4 – The Mutualism between Leaf-Cutting Ants and their Fungus