Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in the Fungus Gardens of Leaf-Cutter Ants-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in the Fungus Gardens of Leaf-Cutter Ants

Published:2009-11-20 Issue:5956 Volume:326 Page:1120-1123
ISSN:0036-8075
Container-title:Science
language:en
Short-container-title:Science

Author:

Pinto-Tomás Adrián A.¹²³,Anderson Mark A.⁴,Suen Garret¹⁵,Stevenson David M.⁶,Chu Fiona S. T.⁴,Cleland W. Wallace⁴,Weimer Paul J.⁶,Currie Cameron R.¹⁵

Affiliation:

1. Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1550 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

2. Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica.

3. Centro de Investigaciones en Estructuras Microscópicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica.

4. Institute for Enzyme Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53726, USA.

5. U.S. Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1550 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

6. U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, 1925 Linden Drive West, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

Abstract

Gardening for Ants and Termites Among the social insects, ants and termites are the most diverse and ecologically dominant. Termites are known to engage in a mutualism with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and Pinto-Tomás et al. (p. 1120 ) have identified similar relationships occurring among leaf-cutter ants, which maintain specialized nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their fungus gardens. Together, these mutualisms are a major source of nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. How is the evolutionary stability of such mutualistic cooperation maintained? Aanen et al. (p. 1103 ) show that the Termitomyces fungus cultured by termites remains highly related because mycelia of the same clone fuse together and grow more efficiently to out-compete rare clones.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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