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Biogeography of mutualistic fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants.
Mueller, Ulrich G; Ishak, Heather D; Bruschi, Sofia M; Smith, Chad C; Herman, Jacob J; Solomon, Scott E; Mikheyev, Alexander S; Rabeling, Christian; Scott, Jarrod J; Cooper, Michael; Rodrigues, Andre; Ortiz, Adriana; Brandão, Carlos R F; Lattke, John E; Pagnocca, Fernando C; Rehner, Stephen A; Schultz, Ted R; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L; Adams, Rachelle M M; Bollazzi, Martin; Clark, Rebecca M; Himler, Anna G; LaPolla, John S; Leal, Inara R; Johnson, Robert A; Roces, Flavio; Sosa-Calvo, Jeffrey; Wirth, Rainer; Bacci, Maurício.
Affiliation
  • Mueller UG; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Ishak HD; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Bruschi SM; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Smith CC; Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Herman JJ; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Solomon SE; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Mikheyev AS; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Rabeling C; Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Scott JJ; Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
  • Cooper M; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Rodrigues A; Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan.
  • Ortiz A; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Brandão CRF; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
  • Lattke JE; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Pagnocca FC; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Rehner SA; Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Schultz TR; Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia.
  • Vasconcelos HL; Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Adams RMM; Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
  • Bollazzi M; Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Clark RM; Mycology and Nematology Genomic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA.
  • Himler AG; Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
  • LaPolla JS; Instituto de Biologia, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
  • Leal IR; Department of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology, Museum of Biological Diversity, Columbus, OH, USA.
  • Johnson RA; Section of Entomology, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
  • Roces F; Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
  • Sosa-Calvo J; Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  • Wirth R; Department of Biology, College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID, USA.
  • Bacci M; Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Mol Ecol ; 26(24): 6921-6937, 2017 12.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29134724
Leafcutter ants propagate co-evolving fungi for food. The nearly 50 species of leafcutter ants (Atta, Acromyrmex) range from Argentina to the United States, with the greatest species diversity in southern South America. We elucidate the biogeography of fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants using DNA sequence and microsatellite-marker analyses of 474 cultivars collected across the leafcutter range. Fungal cultivars belong to two clades (Clade-A and Clade-B). The dominant and widespread Clade-A cultivars form three genotype clusters, with their relative prevalence corresponding to southern South America, northern South America, Central and North America. Admixture between Clade-A populations supports genetic exchange within a single species, Leucocoprinus gongylophorus. Some leafcutter species that cut grass as fungicultural substrate are specialized to cultivate Clade-B fungi, whereas leafcutters preferring dicot plants appear specialized on Clade-A fungi. Cultivar sharing between sympatric leafcutter species occurs frequently such that cultivars of Atta are not distinct from those of Acromyrmex. Leafcutters specialized on Clade-B fungi occur only in South America. Diversity of Clade-A fungi is greatest in South America, but minimal in Central and North America. Maximum cultivar diversity in South America is predicted by the Kusnezov-Fowler hypothesis that leafcutter ants originated in subtropical South America and only dicot-specialized leafcutter ants migrated out of South America, but the cultivar diversity becomes also compatible with a recently proposed hypothesis of a Central American origin by postulating that leafcutter ants acquired novel cultivars many times from other nonleafcutter fungus-growing ants during their migrations from Central America across South America. We evaluate these biogeographic hypotheses in the light of estimated dates for the origins of leafcutter ants and their cultivars.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Ants / Agaricales / Biological Coevolution Type of study: Risk_factors_studies Limits: Animals Country/Region as subject: America central / America do norte / America do sul Language: En Journal: Mol Ecol Journal subject: BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR / SAUDE AMBIENTAL Year: 2017 Document type: Article Affiliation country: United States Country of publication: United kingdom

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Ants / Agaricales / Biological Coevolution Type of study: Risk_factors_studies Limits: Animals Country/Region as subject: America central / America do norte / America do sul Language: En Journal: Mol Ecol Journal subject: BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR / SAUDE AMBIENTAL Year: 2017 Document type: Article Affiliation country: United States Country of publication: United kingdom