On the face of it, a leafcutter ant’s nest is a perfect picture of harmonious relationships. What is also unique about this relationship, is that the ants and fungus have a third mutually symbiotic relationship with bacteria! This three-way relationship … Most fungus-farming ants simply forage for bits of old leaf or grass on the ground, however. Ants that tend and harvest gardens of fungus have a secret weapon against the parasites that invade their crops: antibiotic-producing bacteria that the insects harbor on their bodies. The great defoliation capacity of these insects, which often exceeds the level of tolerable economic damage, … attine ants keep their fungus free from infection by physi-cally removing invasive microorganisms (Currie 2001). This mutualism allowed the evolutionary success of these ants. For these reasons, the ants are often described as both the farmers and pharmacists for the nest fungus. Green AM, Mueller UG, Adams RMM (2002) Extensive exchange of fungal cultivars between sympatric species of fungus-growing ants. We measured fungus garden laccase activity in representative species of fungus-growing ants and found greatly enhanced laccase activity in leaf-cutting ant gardens (Fig. The discovery of the identity of the fungal species involved in these ants were determined by taking pure cultures into the lab and in some cases fruiting bodies have formed. This relationship has held for millions of years, and the fungal invaders have yet to develop a resistance to the compounds. This has many scientists curious. Bass & Cherrett, 1996). The symbiotic relationship between attine ants and the fungus they cultivate is quite obvious as the cultivar can be seen with the naked eye. Leaf-cutting ants, the dominant herbivores in the tropics, can be found from the Southern United States to Northern Argentina. Fungus-growing ants (Myrmicinae: Attini) live in an obligate symbiotic relationship with a fungus that they rear for food, but they can also use the fungal mycelium to cover their brood. The 50-million-year-old relationship between fungus-growing, or attine, ants and the fungus they cultivate and eat has long been considered a model of symbiosis. When ants are removed, alien fungus and other microorganisms will flourish. Fungus-growing ants grow a garden of fungi. It’s not quite so far-fetched. We surveyed colonies from 20 species of fungus-growing ants and Writing today in the journal Science, an international team led by UW–Madison bacteriologist Cameron Currie illustrates the intricate and ancient nature of this mutualistic relationship. The plant benefits because the fungus puts out mycelia that help absorb water and nutrients. The ants cultivate the fungus by cutting leaves and carrying these leaf fragments to the fungus garden. In the tropics, where many species of Ophiocordyceps live, the fungus drives ants upward, to a leaf above the ground. The relationships between the farmer and the farmed provide an indication of how their interactions shape each other. This is the third derived instance of the evoltuion of ant-fungus … Co-Evolution is the simultaneous evolution of multiple living things, and how they work with each other to survive. The zombie ant fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sense lato can be seen growing on a carpenter ant in the lab. Case in point: One group of scientists from Europe says we should look to the ants. The role of the fungus within the ant–plant mutualism remains to be determined. Grooming is thought to have favored the evolutionary suc-cess of fungus-farming ants by decreasing the risk of colony Leafcutter ants don’t eat the leaves they harvest from plants; instead, they use them to sustain a white fungus that they grow in their nests to help feed them and their young. The ant bites down, its jaws locking as it dies. How a parasitic fungus turns ants into 'zombies' The deadly parasite’s grand finale involves sending toxic spores blooming from the dead ant’s head. Leaf‐cutting ants have a beneficial and obligatory relationship with the fungus that they grow. Special bacteria living on the ants help protect the fungi from outside threats, such as other invading fungi. The fungus benefits from the easy access to food made by the plant. It is used entirely to feed the fungus and the ants only feed upon the fungus. Additionally, the fungus benefits because it is transported to new colonies by Queen ants, thereby spreading its genes far and wide.
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