title: Analysis of the bacterial communities associated with two ant-plant symbioses.
abstract: 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 γ-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.
authors: School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom. r.seipke@uea.ac.uk
authors: Ryan F
authors: RF
authors: Seipke
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Barke
authors: Darren
authors: D
authors: Heavens
authors: Douglas W
authors: DW
authors: Yu
authors: Matthew I
authors: MI
authors: Hutchings
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D004885:Erwinia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D054892:Metagenome; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012705:Serratia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013020:South America; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S