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Evolutionary transitions in enzyme activity of ant fungus gardens

In English

Författare

  • Henrik Hjarvard de Fine Licht
  • M. Schiøtt
  • U. G. Mueller
  • J.J. Boomsma

Summary, in English

Fungus-growing (attine) ants and their fungal symbionts passed through several evolutionary transitions during their 50 million year old evolutionary history. The basal attine lineages often shifted between two main cultivar clades, whereas the derived higher-attine lineages maintained an association with a monophyletic clade of specialized symbionts. In conjunction with the transition to specialized symbionts, the ants advanced in colony size and social complexity. Here we provide a comparative study of the functional specialization in extracellular enzyme activities in fungus gardens across the attine phylogeny. We show that, relative to sister clades, gardens of higher-attine ants have enhanced activity of protein-digesting enzymes, whereas gardens of leaf-cutting ants also have increased activity of starch-digesting enzymes. However, the enzyme activities of lower-attine fungus gardens are targeted primarily toward partial degradation of plant cell walls, reflecting a plesiomorphic state of nondomesticated fungi. The enzyme profiles of the higher-attine and leaf-cutting gardens appear particularly suited to digest fresh plant materials and to access nutrients from live cells without major breakdown of cell walls. The adaptive significance of the lower-attine symbiont shifts remains unclear. One of these shifts was obligate, but digestive advantages remained ambiguous, whereas the other remained facultative despite providing greater digestive efficiency.

Publiceringsår

2010

Språk

Engelska

Sidor

2055-2069

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Evolution

Volym

64

Issue

7

Dokumenttyp

Artikel i tidskrift

Förlag

Wiley-Blackwell

Ämne

  • Biological Sciences

Nyckelord

  • Decomposition
  • diffuse coevolution
  • fungus-growing ants
  • Leucocoprinus gongylophorus
  • mutualism

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt

  • ISSN: 1558-5646