Genome Sequencing of Mutualistic Bacteria Associated With Fungus-growing Ants

真菌蚂蚁和它们的微生物伙伴形成了一种复杂的共生关系，涉及至少四个综合的、共同进化的、跨越三个分类王国的古老的关联谱系。 共生关系的核心是蚂蚁农民和他们为食物而培养的真菌之间的专性互利共生。 蚂蚁-真菌互惠共生是由Escovopsis属中的微真菌寄生的，并且为了防御感染，蚂蚁与Pseudonocardia属中的产寄生物的丝状细菌具有互惠共生关系。假诺卡氏菌产生的抗生素抑制专门寄生虫Escovopsis的生长，这些化合物因细菌菌株而异。将对跨越互惠共生多样性的三种假诺卡氏菌株的基因组以及密切相关的非共生物种P. saturnea的基因组进行测序。此外，将生成20个假诺卡氏菌菌株的基因组的光学图谱，这将有助于估计该组细菌的基因组可塑性程度以及进化速率和模式。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。该研究团队将通过开发与该项目相关的公共展示来促进教育和培训，该项目位于威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的微生物科学大楼，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。

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.