International Research Fellowship Program: Evolutionary History of the Higher Attine Symbiosis

0701233所罗门国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9至24个月的研究。 该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，以及使用独特或互补的设施，专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持由斯科特所罗门博士与博士Mauricio Bacci，Jr.合作24个月的研究奖学金。高级共生系统是由四个相互作用的参与者组成的系统：蚂蚁，真菌品种，真菌寄生虫和细菌。在这种共生关系中，Trachymyrmex蚂蚁属占据了关键的位置，作为最接近的生活亲属，著名的切叶蚁，提供了一个机会，（1）了解切叶蚁的进化起源，（2）阐明在物种水平上的四个成员之间的共同进化动态。目前的研究试图通过分子遗传技术重建Trachmyrmex蚂蚁真菌细菌共生的每个参与者的进化历史来实现这些目标。目前正在研究其他成员之间的进化关系，目前的研究结果将与这些正在进行的分析相结合，以提供一个全面的进化历史的所有高等attines。 Trachymyrmex属的42个现存物种分布于美国至阿根廷中部，物种多样性最大的是中美洲和南美洲的热带地区。位于巴西里奥克拉罗的保利斯塔州立大学（Universidade Estadual，UNESP）是在巴西以及南美洲其他主要地点收集Trachymyrmex菌落的基地。将Trachymyrmex活菌落保存在宿主机构中，指导PI分离共生真菌和细菌的方法。随后的分子分析将在华盛顿的史密森学会进行，该学会是重返大气层的主办机构。

0701233SolomonThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Scott Solomon to work with Dr. Mauricio Bacci, Jr. at the Universidad Esadual Paulisa in Brazil, and with Dr. Ted Schultz at the Smithsonian Institution.The higher attine symbiosis is a system consisting of four interacting participants: attine ants, a fungal cultivar, a fungal parasite, and a bacterium. Within this symbiosis, the ant genus Trachymyrmex occupies a critical position as the closest living relatives to the well-known leafcutter ants, providing an opportunity to (1) understand the evolutionary origins of the leafcutter ants, and (2) elucidate the co-evolutionary dynamics among the four members of the attine symbiosis at the species level. The current study seeks to accomplish these goals by reconstructing the evolutionary history of each participant in the Trachmyrmex ant-fungus-bacteria symbiosis using molecular genetic techniques. Research on the evolutionary relationships among the other members of the higher attine ants is currently underway, and the results of the current study will be integrated with these ongoing analyses to provide a comprehensive evolutionary history of all higher attines. The 42 current living species within the genus Trachymyrmex are distributed from the United States through central Argentina, with the greatest species diversity occurring in tropical regions of Central and South America. The foreign host institution, the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) in Rio Claro, Brazil serves as a base for collecting Trachymyrmex colonies throughout Brazil as well as other key locations in South America. Living Trachymyrmex colonies are maintained at the host institution, where the PI is being instructed in methods for isolating the symbiotic fungi and bacteria. Subsequent molecular analyses will take place at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, which serves as the re-entry host.