A Brazilian population of the asexual fungus-growing ant Mycocepurus smithii (Formicidae, Myrmicinae, Attini) cultivates fungal symbionts with gongylidia-like structures

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dc.contributor.authorMasiulionis, Virginia Elena [UNESP]
dc.contributor.authorRabeling, Christian
dc.contributor.authorLicht, Henrik H. De Fine
dc.contributor.authorSchultz, Ted
dc.contributor.authorBacci, Maurício [UNESP]
dc.contributor.authorBezerra, Cintia Maria Santos [UNESP]
dc.contributor.authorPagnocca, Fernando Carlos [UNESP]
dc.contributor.institutionUniversidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
dc.contributor.institutionHarvard Univ
dc.contributor.institutionSmithsonian Inst
dc.contributor.institutionUniv Copenhagen
dc.date.accessioned2015-03-18T15:56:01Z
dc.date.available2015-03-18T15:56:01Z
dc.date.issued2014-08-07
dc.description.abstractAttine ants cultivate fungi as their most important food source and in turn the fungus is nourished, protected against harmful microorganisms, and dispersed by the ants. This symbiosis evolved approximately 50-60 million years ago in the late Paleocene or early Eocene, and since its origin attine ants have acquired a variety of fungal mutualists in the Leucocoprineae and the distantly related Pterulaceae. The most specialized symbiotic interaction is referred to as "higher agriculture'' and includes leafcutter ant agriculture in which the ants cultivate the single species Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. Higher agriculture fungal cultivars are characterized by specialized hyphal tip swellings, so-called gongylidia, which are considered a unique, derived morphological adaptation of higher attine fungi thought to be absent in lower attine fungi. Rare reports of gongylidia-like structures in fungus gardens of lower attines exist, but it was never tested whether these represent rare switches of lower attines to L. gonglyphorus cultivars or whether lower attine cultivars occasionally produce gongylidia. Here we describe the occurrence of gongylidia-like structures in fungus gardens of the asexual lower attine ant Mycocepurus smithii. To test whether M. smithii cultivates leafcutter ant fungi or whether lower attine cultivars produce gongylidia, we identified the M. smithii fungus utilizing molecular and morphological methods. Results shows that the gongylidia-like structures of M. smithii gardens are morphologically similar to gongylidia of higher attine fungus gardens and can only be distinguished by their slightly smaller size. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the fungal ITS sequence indicates that the gongylidia-bearing M. smithii cultivar belongs to the so-called "Clade 1'' of lower Attini cultivars. Given that M. smithii is capable of cultivating a morphologically and genetically diverse array of fungal symbionts, we discuss whether asexuality of the ant host maybe correlated with low partner fidelity and active symbiont choice between fungus and ant mutualists.en
dc.description.affiliationSao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biociencias, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
dc.description.affiliationHarvard Univ, Museum Comparat Zool, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
dc.description.affiliationSmithsonian Inst, Natl Museum Nat Hist, Dept Entomol, Washington, DC 20560 USA
dc.description.affiliationUniv Copenhagen, Sect Organismal Biol, Dept Plant & Environm Sci, Copenhagen, Denmark
dc.description.affiliationUnespSao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biociencias, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
dc.description.sponsorshipConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
dc.description.sponsorshipFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
dc.description.sponsorshipCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
dc.description.sponsorshipHarvard Society of Fellows
dc.description.sponsorshipHMS Milton Fund
dc.description.sponsorshipU.S. National Science Foundation
dc.description.sponsorshipSmithsonian Institution Scholarly Studies Program
dc.description.sponsorshipSmithsonian NMNH Small Grants Program
dc.description.sponsorshipDanish Research Council
dc.description.sponsorshipCarlsberg Foundation
dc.description.sponsorshipIdU.S. National Science FoundationDEB 0949689
dc.format.extent8
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103800
dc.identifier.citationPlos One. San Francisco: Public Library Science, v. 9, n. 8, 8 p., 2014.
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0103800
dc.identifier.fileWOS000339993900024.pdf
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.lattes8302605179522059
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11449/117394
dc.identifier.wosWOS:000339993900024
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherPublic Library Science
dc.relation.ispartofPlos One
dc.relation.ispartofjcr2.766
dc.relation.ispartofsjr1,164
dc.rights.accessRightsAcesso aberto
dc.sourceWeb of Science
dc.titleA Brazilian population of the asexual fungus-growing ant Mycocepurus smithii (Formicidae, Myrmicinae, Attini) cultivates fungal symbionts with gongylidia-like structuresen
dc.typeArtigo
dcterms.rightsHolderPublic Library Science
unesp.author.lattes8302605179522059[7]
unesp.author.orcid0000-0002-5619-1411[5]
unesp.author.orcid0000-0002-5026-1933[7]
unesp.campusUniversidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Instituto de Biociências, Rio Claropt

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Artigos - Bioquímica e Microbiologia - IBRC