The Evolution of Agriculture in Insects

Mueller, Ulrich G.; Gerardo, Nicole M.; Aanen, Duur K.; Six, Diana L.; Schultz, Ted R.

doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.36.102003.152626

Cited by 524 publications

(570 citation statements)

References 118 publications

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“…The mutualism is obligatory for both the symbiotic fungus and the ants (Mueller et al, 2005), as the fungus is dependent on the ants for substrate provisioning and control of competing and pathogenic microbes (Currie et al, 1999;Hart et al, 2002;Valmir Santos et al, 2004), whereas the ants are dependent on the fungus as their main food component (Weber, 1966;Littledyke and Cherrett, 1976;Quinlan and Cherrett, 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most highly advanced and complex agricultural systems are found in the leaf-cutting ant genera Atta and Acromyrmex (Weber, 1966;Mueller et al, 2001;Mueller et al, 2005), which evolved 8-12 million years ago (Schultz and Brady, 2008) and are characterized by mainly collecting fresh plant material . Atta and Acromyrmex workers carry freshly cut leaves to the nest where they process this material into substrate for their crop symbiont Leucocoprinus gongylophorus, by chewing it into minute pieces that are mixed with ''saliva''.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)

et al. 2010

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Fungus gardens of the basidiomycete Leucocoprinus gongylophorus sustain large colonies of leaf-cutting ants by degrading the plant material collected by the ants. Recent studies have shown that enzyme activity in these gardens is primarily targeted toward starch, proteins and the pectin matrix associated with cell walls, rather than toward structural cell wall components such as cellulose and hemicelluloses. Substrate constituents are also known to be sequentially degraded in different sections of the fungus garden. To test the plasticity in the extracellular expression of fungus-garden enzymes, we measured the changes in enzyme activity after a controlled shift in fungal substrate offered to six laboratory colonies of Atta cephalotes. An ant diet consisting exclusively of grains of parboiled rice rapidly increased the activity of endo-proteinases and some of the pectinases attacking the backbone structure of pectin molecules, relative to a pure diet of bramble leaves, and this happened predominantly in the most recently established top sections of fungus gardens. However, fungus-garden amylase activity did not significantly increase despite the substantial increase in starch availability from the rice diet, relative to the leaf diet controls. Enzyme activity in the older, bottom sections of fungus gardens decreased, indicating a faster processing of the rice substrate compared to the leaf diet. These results suggest that leaf-cutting ant fungus gardens can rapidly adjust enzyme activity to provide a better match with substrate availability and that excess starch that is not protected by cell walls may be digested by the ants rather than by the fungus-garden symbiont.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)

et al. 2010

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“…Buchner 1953, Wilding et al 1989, Vega & Blackwell 2005. Insects can be a vector of fungi (Paine et al 1997), feed on the fungi degrading wood (Mueller et al 2005), or even host endosymbiotic fungi for wood digestion (Buchner 1953). Especially many xylophageous insects feeding on deadwood co-evolved with fungi to complex symbiotic coenosis (Douglas 1989, Klepzig et al 1996, Dillon & Dillon 2004.…”

Section: Fungus-insect Interaction On Trees Trunks and Deadwoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These beetles differ widely in their ecology and biochemical adaptations to their host trees. Within this taxonomic group are phloem-and xylem feeders, ambrosia beetles with a compulsive association to symbiotic fungi and there are also several facultative connections between bark inhabiting insects and fungi , Aukema et al 2005, Mueller et al 2005. The majority of Scolytidae are phloem-feeders with obviously mutualistic relationships to their fungal associates but the strength of interaction is still subject of considerable debate.…”

Section: Fungus-insect Interaction On Trees Trunks and Deadwoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood production, wood technology, and biotechnological impacts

Kües¹

2007

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“…They are fungus farmers and one of four examples of agriculture in the animal kingdom (humans, attine ants and macrotermitine termites are the remaining three) (45,118) (Fig. 1).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Destructive Tree Diseases Associated with Ambrosia and Bark Beetles: Black Swan Events in Tree Pathology?

et al. 2013

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Diseases that are associated with ambrosia and bark beetles comprise some of the most significant problems that have emerged on trees in the last century. They are caused by fungi in the Ophiostomatales, Microascales and Hypocreales, and have vectors in the Scolytinae (ambrosia and bark beetles), Platypodinae (ambrosia beetles) and Hylesininae (bark beetles) subfamilies of the Curculionidae (Coleoptera) (73,102,144). Some of these problems, such as Dutch elm disease (DED), have a long history, have been extensively researched, and are fairly well understood (23,56,70,113,149,168,169). In contrast, other similar diseases developed recently and are poorly or partially understood (2,3,42,51,73,89,94,98,114,127,137,154,158, 164,165). Significant data gaps may exist for the ecology, epidemiology and management of the latter diseases.The emergence and unexpected importance of these tree diseases are discussed in thisarticle. An underlying factor in most of these interactions is the absence of a coevolved history between the so-called "naïve" or "new encounter" host trees and the pathogens and/or beetles (27,128,174). For the ambrosia beetles, these interactions are associated with susceptibility to what are typically benign fungi and atypical relationships with healthy trees (ambrosia beetles favor trees that are dead or stressed). Interestingly, the pathogens for both the ambrosia and bark beetle-associated diseases often have symbiotic relationships with the insects that are not based on phytopathogenicity. Some of the most alarming and damaging of these diseases are considered below as "black swan events" (155).Black Swans. Before 1697, improbable events and situations in Europe were known as "black swans" (at the time, all swans known to Europeans were white) (134). In that year, the black swan, Cygnus atratus, was discovered in Western Australia (38). Thereafter, "black swan" developed as a metaphor for a supposed impossibility that is contradicted with new information.For example, John Stuart Mill used black swan logical fallacy when identifying falsification, a key component in the scientific method (68).In a recent book, Taleb (155) developed Black Swan Theory (BST). Unlike the "black swan" to which Mill referred (68), BST focuses on unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence (155). Taleb (155) recognized such events in diverse fields including finance, history, science and technology. He suggested that black swan events: 1) have extreme impacts; 2) lie outside the realm of regular expectations (they are rare); and 3) are unpredictable.Although all ambrosia and bark beetle-associated diseases are not black swan events, several do fulfill the above criteria since they have large impacts, are uncommon surprises and are unpredictable (2,3,51,56,73,89,94,98,114,137,154,158, 164,165) (Table 1). They are typically understood and appreciated only with the benefit of hindsight and subsequent research.The Beetles and Beetle-associated Tree Diseases. The order Coleoptera contains more species than any other or...

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The Evolution of Agriculture in Insects

Cited by 524 publications

References 118 publications

Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)

Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)

Wood production, wood technology, and biotechnological impacts

Destructive Tree Diseases Associated with Ambrosia and Bark Beetles: Black Swan Events in Tree Pathology?

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