Genome Sequencing of Mutualistic Bacteria Associated With Fungus-growing Ants

真菌生长的蚂蚁和它们的微生物伙伴形成了一个复杂的共生关系，涉及至少四个整合的，共同进化的，古老的关联谱系，跨越三个分类王国。这种共生关系的核心是蚁农和他们为食物而种植的真菌之间的义务互惠关系。蚂蚁寄生于Escovopsis属的微真菌，为了抵御感染，蚂蚁与Pseudonocardia属的丝状细菌产生共生关系。由假心菌产生的抗生素抑制特化寄生虫Escovopsis的生长，这些化合物因细菌的菌株而异。研究人员将对三种跨越共生多样性的假心草菌株的基因组以及与之密切相关的非共生物种saturnea P.的基因组进行测序。此外，还将生成20个伪心菌菌株的基因组光学图，这将有助于估计这类细菌的基因组可塑性程度以及进化速度和模式。共生是生命史上的一个重要主题；因此，这项工作将有助于理解驱动生物复杂性和多样性的一般机制。研究团队将通过在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校微生物科学大楼的微生物场所开发与该项目相关的公共展示，以及通过为本科生和研究生研究人员举办的微生物基因组学年度研讨会，为教育和培训做出贡献。

Fungus-growing ants and their microbial partners form a complex symbiosis, involving at least four integrated, coevolved, and anciently associated lineages that span three taxonomic kingdoms. At the center of the symbiosis is the obligate mutualism between the ant farmers and the fungi they cultivate for food. The ant-fungus mutualism is parasitized by microfungi in the genus Escovopsis, and to defend against infection, the ants have a mutualistic association with antibiotic-producing filamentous bacteria in the genus Pseudonocardia. The antibiotics produced by Pseudonocardia suppress the growth of the specialized parasite Escovopsis, and these compounds differ depending on the strain of bacteria. The genomes for three strains of Pseudonocardia that span the diversity of the mutualism will be sequenced, as well as the genome of P. saturnea, a closely related non-symbiotic species. In addition, optical maps for the genomes of 20 Pseudonocardia strains will be generated, which will facilitate estimations of the degree of genome plasticity and rates and patterns of evolution in this group of bacteria. Symbiosis is a major theme in the history of life; thus, this work will contribute to understanding general mechanisms that drive biological complexity and diversity. The research team will contribute to education and training through the development of public displays related to this project for The Microbe Place in the Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as through a yearly workshop on microbial genomics for undergraduate and graduate researchers.