Physiological constraints of symbiont switching: An experimental study of cultivar fidelity and cultivar re-association in fungus-growing ants

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Mutualistic alliances between different organisms generate common goods for the interacting organisms that often exceed the sum of the parts. For example, attine fungus-growing ants provide their fungal cultivars with growth material, shelter, and protection from pathogens, while the fungus in turn serves as the ants' main food source. The fungus also provides the ants with digestive enzymes. Fungal cultivars are transferred to offspring ant nests from parental nests, but on rare occasions cultivars are also passed from one ant species to another ant species, creating new ant-fungus combinations with novel properties and novel common goods. This proposal aims to elucidate the novel common goods that are generated in natural and experimentally induced ant-fungus associations, focusing on enzyme efficiency, growth rate, and health (pathogen resistance) of different ant-fungus combinations. The project therefore elucidates general principles governing mutualism and cooperation in a social, symbiotic organism. Because the project focuses specifically on several ant-fungus mutualisms occurring in the USA, the research also presents rich opportunities in teaching and outreach (e.g., workshops at public schools and nature centers) to promote education of students and the public on the importance of symbiosis in local biodiversity and local environments.