Fungus-growing ants use antibiotic-producing bacteria to control garden parasites
Fungus-growing ants use antibiotic-producing bacteria to control garden parasites
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DOI：
10.1038/19519
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发表时间：
1999-04-22
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Malloch, D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Currie, CR;Scott, JA;Malloch, D
真菌蚂蚁和它们的真菌之间经过充分研究、古老和高度进化的互惠共生已成为共生研究的模式系统(1-5)。虽然目前认为只涉及两种共生体，彼此几乎与其他生物隔离(1-5)，但蚂蚁的真菌花园实际上是一种专门的、有毒的Ecovopsis(子囊菌纲)寄生真菌的宿主(6)。由于蚂蚁和它们的真菌是相互依赖的，在杂草或寄生虫存在的情况下保持稳定的真菌单一培养对这两种生物的生存至关重要。在这里，我们描述了这种共生关系中的第三种新的互助体，一种链霉菌属的丝状细菌(放线菌)，它产生专门针对抑制专门的花园寄生虫Ecovopsis的生长的抗生素。这第三种共生菌与所研究的所有种类的真菌蚂蚁有关，携带在蚂蚁角质层属特有的区域，垂直传播(从亲代群体传给后代群体)，并具有促进真菌共生体生长的能力，这表明链霉菌与蚂蚁的关联性既是高度进化的，也是古老的起源。
The well-studied, ancient and highly evolved mutualism between fungus-growing ants and their fungi has become a model system in the study of symbiosis(1-5). Although it is thought at present to involve only two symbionts, associated with each other in near isolation from other organisms(1-5), the fungal gardens of attine ants are in fact host to a specialized and virulent parasitic fungus of the genus Escovopsis (Ascomycotina)(6). Because the ants and their fungi are mutually dependent, the maintenance of stable fungal monocultures in the presence of weeds or parasites is critical to the survival of both organisms. Here we describe a new, third mutualist in this symbiosis, a filamentous bacterium (actinomycete) of the genus Streptomyces that produces antibiotics specifically targeted to suppress the growth of the specialized garden-parasite Escovopsis. This third mutualist is associated with all species of fungus-growing ants studied, is carried upon regions of the ants' cuticle that are genus specific, is transmitted vertically (from parent to offspring colonies), and has the capacity to promote the growth of the fungal mutualist, indicating that the association of Streptomyces with attine ants is both highly evolved and of ancient origin.