Mycelial carton galleries of
            <i>Azteca brevis</i>
            (Formicidae) as a multi-species network

Mayer, Veronika; Voglmayr, Hermann

doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0768

Cited by 40 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A new source of complexity in the trophic structure of ant-myrmecophyte associations is added by the recent findings that many ant-plant symbioses include longignored fungal partners [27][28][29]. These ant-plant-fungi symbioses have been shown to have two benefits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These ant-plant-fungi symbioses have been shown to have two benefits. In some, the fungi have a structural role in galleries built by ants around host branches to capture large prey [28,29]. In others, the fungi grow on inner surfaces of domatia and their role remains unknown [27,30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of fungi in trophic fluxes in these tripartite symbioses is not yet clear. The fungi involved in these two types of symbioses belong to the order Chaetothyriales (Ascomycota [27,29]). Although only two plant-ant species are known to build fungal galleries as insect traps, fungi growing in domatia have been observed in many ant-plant symbioses [27,30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

et al. 2010

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In ant -plant symbioses, plants provide symbiotic ants with food and specialized nesting cavities (called domatia). In many ant -plant symbioses, a fungal patch grows within each domatium. The symbiotic nature of the fungal association has been shown in the ant-plant Leonardoxa africana and its protective mutualist ant Petalomyrmex phylax. To decipher trophic fluxes among the three partners, food enriched in 13 C and 15 N was given to the ants and tracked in the different parts of the symbiosis up to 660 days later. The plant received a small, but significant, amount of nitrogen from the ants. However, the ants fed more intensively the fungus. The pattern of isotope enrichment in the system indicated an ant behaviour that functions specifically to feed the fungus. After 660 days, the introduced nitrogen was still present in the system and homogeneously distributed among ant, plant and fungal compartments, indicating efficient recycling within the symbiosis. Another experiment showed that the plant surface absorbed nutrients (in the form of simple molecules) whether or not it is coated by fungus. Our study provides arguments for a mutualistic status of the fungal associate and a framework for investigating the previously unsuspected complexity of food webs in ant -plant mutualisms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

et al. 2010

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“…Fungal mycelium growing within ant carton-and cultured by the ants themselves-has long been known to contribute to structural support, stabilizing the construction material used as carton components (i.e. plant debris or fibres) [19][20][21][22][23]. However, the taxonomic affiliation of these fungi was unknown until recently and the frequency and extent of associations with ants were underestimated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The other strains have been isolated only from spores and are most likely contaminants. Numerous strains of Chaetothyriales are usually mixed within a single piece of carton, and show low specificity in regard to the identity of the carton-making ant [15,23]. Carton-making is widespread among tropical ants, but also occurs in temperate species [7,14,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A phylogenetic perspective on the association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and black yeasts (Ascomycota: Chaetothyriales)

et al. 2017

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The frequency and the geographical extent of symbiotic associations between ants and fungi of the order Chaetothyriales have been highlighted only recently. Using a phylogenetic approach based on seven molecular markers, we showed that ant-associated Chaetothyriales are scattered through the phylogeny of this order. There was no clustering according to geographical origin or to the taxonomy of the ant host. However, strains tended to be clustered according to the type of association with ants: strains from ant-made carton and strains from plant cavities occupied by ants (‘domatia’) rarely clustered together. Defining molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) with an internal transcribed spacer sequence similarity cut-off of 99% revealed that a single MOTU could be composed of strains collected from various ant species and from several continents. Some ant-associated MOTUs also contained strains isolated from habitats other than ant-associated structures. Altogether, our results suggest that the degree of specialization of the interactions between ants and their fungal partners is highly variable. A better knowledge of the ecology of these interactions and a more comprehensive sampling of the fungal order are needed to elucidate the evolutionary history of mutualistic symbioses between ants and Chaetothyriales.

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Mutualistic interactions between ants and fungi: A review

Déjean

Azémar

Naskrecki

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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The large amount of dead plant biomass caused by the final extinction events triggered a fungi proliferation that mostly differentiated into saprophytes degrading organic matter; others became parasites, predators, likely commensals, and mutualists. Among the last, many have relationships with ants, the most emblematic seen in the Neotropical myrmicine Attina that cultivate Basidiomycota for food. Among them, leaf‐cutting, fungus‐growing species illustrate an ecological innovation because they grow fungal gardens from fresh plant material rather than arthropod frass and plant debris. Myrmecophytes shelter “plant‐ants” in hollow structures, the domatia, whose inner walls are lined with thin‐walled Ascomycota hyphae that, in certain cases, are eaten by the ants, showing a form of convergence. Typically, these Ascomycota have antibacterial properties illustrating cases of farming for protection. Ant gardens, or mutualistic associations between certain ant species and epiphytes, shelter endophytic fungi that promote the growth of the epiphytes. Because the cell walls of certain Ascomycota hyphae remain sturdy after the death of the mycelium, they form resistant fibers used by ants to reinforce their constructions (e.g., galleries, shelters for tended hemipterans, and carton nests). Thus, we saw cases of “true” fungal agriculture involving planting, cultivating, and harvesting Basidiomycota for food with Attina. A convergence with “plant‐ants” feeding on Ascomycota whose antibacterial activity is generally exploited (i.e., farming for protection). The growth of epiphytes was promoted by endophytic fungi in ant gardens. Finally, farming for structural materials occurred with, in one case, a leaf‐cutting, fungus‐growing ant using Ascomycota fibers to reinforce its nests.

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Mycelial carton galleries of Azteca brevis (Formicidae) as a multi-species network

Cited by 40 publications

References 30 publications

Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

A phylogenetic perspective on the association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and black yeasts (Ascomycota: Chaetothyriales)

Mutualistic interactions between ants and fungi: A review

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