title: The Evolutionary Innovation of Nutritional Symbioses in Leaf-Cutter Ants.
abstract: Fungus-growing ants gain access to nutrients stored in plant biomass through their association with a mutualistic fungus they grow for food. This 50 million-year-old obligate mutualism likely facilitated some of these species becoming dominant Neotropical herbivores that can achieve immense colony sizes. Recent culture-independent investigations have shed light on the conversion of plant biomass into nutrients within ant fungus gardens, revealing that this process involves both the fungal cultivar and a symbiotic community of bacteria including Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pantoea species. Moreover, the genome sequences of the leaf-cutter ants Atta cephalotes and Acromyrmex echinatior have provided key insights into how this symbiosis has shaped the evolution of these ants at a genetic level. Here we summarize the findings of recent research on the microbial community dynamics within fungus-growing ant fungus gardens and discuss their implications for this ancient symbiosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. faylward@wisc.edu.|Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, 1550 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. faylward@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Frank O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Aylward
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. currie@bact.wisc.edu.|Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, 1550 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. currie@bact.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Cameron R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Currie
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. gsuen@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Garret
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suen
keywords: Leucoagaricus; attine ants; co-evolution; microbial consortia; symbiosis