期刊
MICROBIOLOGYOPEN
卷 2, 期 2, 页码 276-283出版社
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.73
关键词
16S pyrosequencing; Allomerus; fungus-growing ants; microbiome; Tetraponera
类别
资金
- Capacity and Capability Challenge Programme [CCC-1-12]
- Genome Analysis Centre in Norwich, U.K
- Medical Research Council Milstein award [G0801721]
- NERC [NE/J01074X/1]
- UEA-funded Ph.D. studentship
- BBSRC [BBS/E/T/000PR5885, BBS/E/T/000PR6193] Funding Source: UKRI
- MRC [G0801721] Funding Source: UKRI
- NERC [NE/J01074X/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BBS/E/T/000PR5885, BBS/E/T/000PR6193] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [G0801721] Funding Source: researchfish
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/J01074X/1] Funding Source: researchfish
Insect fungiculture is practiced by ants, termites, beetles, and gall midges and it has been suggested to be widespread among plant-ants. Some of the insects engaged in fungiculture, including attine ants and bark beetles, are known to use symbiotic antibiotic-producing actinobacteria to protect themselves and their fungal cultivars against infection. In this study, we analyze the bacterial communities on the cuticles of the plant-ant genera Allomerus and Tetraponera using deep sequencing of 16S rRNA. Allomerus ants cultivate fungus as a building material to strengthen traps for prey, while Tetraponera ants cultivate fungus as a food source. We report that Allomerus and Tetraponera microbiomes contain >75% Proteobacteria and remarkably the bacterial phyla that dominate their cuticular microbiomes are very similar despite their geographic separation (South America and Africa, respectively). Notably, antibiotic-producing actinomycete bacteria represent a tiny fraction of the cuticular microbiomes of both Allomerus and Tetraponera spp. and instead they are dominated by gamma-proteobacteria Erwinia and Serratia spp. Both these phyla are known to contain antibiotic-producing species which might therefore play a protective role in these ant-plant systems.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据