Evolutionary aspects of ant-fungus interactions in leaf-cutting ants.
Leaf-cutting ants are highly successful herbivores because they are able to use a wide variety of plants as food The workers harvest and process plant material to be used as substrate for a fungus on which they feed. New hypotheses concerning the evolution of the ant-fungus relationship have now been proposed. Although the relationship between the ants and the fungus is mutualistic, if may appear that the fungus has little control over the ants. However, evidence suggests that the fungus may be exploiting the ants to provide it with substrate and antimicrobial defence. Furthermore, experimental evidence suggests that the fungus can select its substrate by controlling the foraging behaviour of the ants, by means of an ingenious chemical feedback mechanism.
Biodiversity & Ecology Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton, UK S016 7PX.
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North
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Jackson
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Howse