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Extensive exchange of fungal cultivars between sympatric species of fungus-growing ants. 2002

A M Green, and U G Mueller, and R M M Adams
Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.

Fungal cultivars of fungus-growing ants (Attini, Formicidae) are carried by dispersing queens from parent to offspring nest. This vertical cultivar transmission between generations is thought to result in long-term ant-fungus coevolution and selection for beneficial cultivar traits that maximize harvests and thus colony productivity. In contrast to this traditional view of vertical cultivar transmission, frequent horizontal cultivar transmission between ant species is implicated by a phylogenetic analysis of 72 cultivars propagated by two fungus-growing ant species coexisting sympatrically in central Panama. The two ant species are specialized on the same group of closely related cultivars, but in six of 12 cultivar clades identifiable within this group, cultivars from both ant species were united in the same clade. Five of these 'mixed' clades were supported by bootstrap values of about 90% or higher. In one instance, colonies from the two ant species cultivated the same, genetically identical, cultivar clone. These phylogenetic patterns indicate that: (i) cultivar exchanges between the two ant species occur routinely throughout ecological time; and that (ii) coevolutionary processes between ants and their fungi are more diffuse than previously assumed. Because the two ant species are specialized on a narrow group of closely related cultivars that they regularly exchange among each other, but not with other sympatric ant species, cultivar exchanges are constrained, most likely, by ant preferences for their own cultivar group or by stringent selection against transitions of ant lineages to distantly related cultivars.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010176 Panama A country in CENTRAL AMERICA, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between COLOMBIA and COSTA RICA.
D010802 Phylogeny The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup. Community Phylogenetics,Molecular Phylogenetics,Phylogenetic Analyses,Phylogenetic Analysis,Phylogenetic Clustering,Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis,Phylogenetic Comparative Methods,Phylogenetic Distance,Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares,Phylogenetic Groups,Phylogenetic Incongruence,Phylogenetic Inference,Phylogenetic Networks,Phylogenetic Reconstruction,Phylogenetic Relatedness,Phylogenetic Relationships,Phylogenetic Signal,Phylogenetic Structure,Phylogenetic Tree,Phylogenetic Trees,Phylogenomics,Analyse, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic,Analysis, Phylogenetic Comparative,Clustering, Phylogenetic,Community Phylogenetic,Comparative Analysis, Phylogenetic,Comparative Method, Phylogenetic,Distance, Phylogenetic,Group, Phylogenetic,Incongruence, Phylogenetic,Inference, Phylogenetic,Method, Phylogenetic Comparative,Molecular Phylogenetic,Network, Phylogenetic,Phylogenetic Analyse,Phylogenetic Clusterings,Phylogenetic Comparative Analyses,Phylogenetic Comparative Method,Phylogenetic Distances,Phylogenetic Group,Phylogenetic Incongruences,Phylogenetic Inferences,Phylogenetic Network,Phylogenetic Reconstructions,Phylogenetic Relatednesses,Phylogenetic Relationship,Phylogenetic Signals,Phylogenetic Structures,Phylogenetic, Community,Phylogenetic, Molecular,Phylogenies,Phylogenomic,Reconstruction, Phylogenetic,Relatedness, Phylogenetic,Relationship, Phylogenetic,Signal, Phylogenetic,Structure, Phylogenetic,Tree, Phylogenetic
D011110 Polymorphism, Genetic The regular and simultaneous occurrence in a single interbreeding population of two or more discontinuous genotypes. The concept includes differences in genotypes ranging in size from a single nucleotide site (POLYMORPHISM, SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE) to large nucleotide sequences visible at a chromosomal level. Gene Polymorphism,Genetic Polymorphism,Polymorphism (Genetics),Genetic Polymorphisms,Gene Polymorphisms,Polymorphism, Gene,Polymorphisms (Genetics),Polymorphisms, Gene,Polymorphisms, Genetic
D012150 Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length Variation occurring within a species in the presence or length of DNA fragment generated by a specific endonuclease at a specific site in the genome. Such variations are generated by mutations that create or abolish recognition sites for these enzymes or change the length of the fragment. RFLP,Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism,RFLPs,Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms
D005075 Biological Evolution The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics. Evolution, Biological
D005658 Fungi A kingdom of eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms that live parasitically as saprobes, including MUSHROOMS; YEASTS; smuts, molds, etc. They reproduce either sexually or asexually, and have life cycles that range from simple to complex. Filamentous fungi, commonly known as molds, refer to those that grow as multicellular colonies. Fungi, Filamentous,Molds,Filamentous Fungi,Filamentous Fungus,Fungus,Fungus, Filamentous,Mold
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001000 Ants Insects of the family Formicidae, very common and widespread, probably the most successful of all the insect groups. All ants are social insects, and most colonies contain three castes, queens, males, and workers. Their habits are often very elaborate and a great many studies have been made of ant behavior. Ants produce a number of secretions that function in offense, defense, and communication. (From Borror, et al., An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th ed, p676) Ant

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