IRCEB: Evolutionary Ecology of the Attine Ant-Microbe Mutualism: Experimental and Molecular Approaches to Understanding Symbiosis and Coevolution

IRCEB：蚂蚁-微生物互利共生的进化生态学：理解共生和共同进化的实验和分子方法

• 批准号: 0110073
• 负责人: Ulrich Mueller
• 金额: $ 267万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-15 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0110073&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRCEB; Evolutionary; Ecology; Attine; Ant

Ant agriculture, exemplified by the symbiosis between fungus-growing (attine) ants and their fungal cultivars, is intensively studied as a model system for understanding the general ecological and coevolutionary mechanisms that shape highly integrated symbioses. The attine ant agricultural symbiosis encompasses both mutualistic and parasitic interactions between (1) ant farmers, (2) fungal cultivars, (3) parasitic fungal "weeds" that infest ant gardens, and (4) antibiotic-producing bacteria that control the garden parasites and are cultured on the bodies of ants. This project specifically explores the ecological complexity of the attine ant-fungus-bacterium symbiosis and elucidates its 50-million-year coevolutionary history by testing hypotheses posed at multiple ecological and evolutionary levels, including: (1) the local ecological level within ant colonies; (2) the population and community levels; (3) the biogeographic level; and the phylogenetic level, including (4) coevolutionary processes and historical ecology; (5) symbiont-mediated speciation; and (6) the effects of symbiotic life histories on rates of evolutionary change. Because symbiosis is a major recurring theme in the history of life, this research is expected to generate general insights into the broad mechanisms that drive biological complexity and diversity. Such insights could in some cases impact issues directly relevant to human welfare, including the evolution of antibiotic resistance and the practice of sustainable agriculture.

蚂蚁农业，真菌生长（attine）蚂蚁和它们的真菌品种之间的共生为例，深入研究作为一个模型系统，了解一般的生态和共同进化机制，形成高度集成的共生。蚂蚁的农业共生关系包括（1）蚂蚁农民，（2）真菌品种，（3）寄生真菌“杂草”，寄生真菌“杂草”。 本研究旨在探讨蚂蚁-真菌-细菌共生的生态复杂性，并通过在多个生态和进化水平上的假设来阐明其5000万年的共同进化历史，这些水平包括：（1）蚁群内的局部生态水平;（2）种群和群落水平;（3）地理水平;系统发育水平，包括（4）共同进化过程和历史生态学;（5）共生介导的物种形成;（6）共生生活史对进化变化率的影响。 由于共生是生命史上一个反复出现的主题，这项研究有望对驱动生物复杂性和多样性的广泛机制产生普遍的见解。 在某些情况下，这些见解可能会影响与人类福祉直接相关的问题，包括抗生素耐药性的演变和可持续农业的实践。