Publications

the role of the symbiotic fungus in the digestive metabolism of two species of fungus-growing ants.	leaf-cutting ants live in an obligatory symbiosis with a fungus which they grow on fresh leaves harvested by workers. this study attempts to clarify the respective role of ants and fungus in the degradation of plant material, in order to highlight the evolutionary basis of this mutualistic association. the symbiotic system of two ant species, acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus and acromyrmex crassispinus, was investigated. to identify the digestive carbohydrases, a total of 19 specific and syn ...	2002	11916111
digestive enzymes of leaf-cutting ants, acromyrmex subterraneus (hymenoptera: formicidae: attini): distribution in the gut of adult workers and partial characterization.	enzyme activities associated with the labial glands, midgut and rectum of adult acromyrmex subterraneus were investigated in order to understand their role in digestion of plant and fungal material. high chitinolytic activity was detected in the labial glands, indicating a possible role in the degradation of fungus ingested by the ants. chitinolytic activity seen in other compartments of the alimentary canal probably originated in the labial glands. the highest activity detected in the midgut wa ...	2004	15518656
queen adoption in colonies of the leaf-cutting ant acromyrmex subterraneus molestans (hymenoptera: formicidae).	bioassays were conducted in both laboratory and the field to determine if monogynous colonies of acromyrmex subterraneus molestans (myrmicinae, attini) adopt queens from other colonies of the same subspecies. the results suggest that the adoption of fertilized queens is a possible mechanism to explain the occurrence of colonies with multiple queens in this subspecies. only minor workers were able to discriminate queens from other colonies and were aggressive toward them. therefore, queen recogni ...	2005	15916864
digestive enzymes in larvae of the leaf cutting ant, acromyrmex subterraneus (hymenoptera: formicidae: attini).	the digestive physiology and biochemistry of larvae of the leaf-cutting ant acromyrmex subterraneus were investigated here. the activity of digestive enzymes was evaluated in the labial glands, midgut epithelium (soluble and particulate fractions), and in the lumen contents, separated into endo and ectoperitrophic regions. enzymes with high levels of activity were partially characterised using chromatography and electrophoresis techniques. microscope observations were carried out and the anatomy ...	2007	17681527
survey of neodohrniphora spp. (diptera: phoridae) at colonies of atta sexdens rubropilosa (forel) and specificity of attack behaviour in relation to their hosts.	atta sexdens rubropilosa is a leaf-cutting ant that is a significant agricultural and forestry pest in the neotropical region. this ant is parasitized by flies from the genera neodohrniphora spp., apocephalus spp. and myrmosicarius spp. this study was carried out to determine which species of neodohrniphora spp. are found near foraging trails of atta sexdens rubropilosa and to evaluate the specificity of attack behaviour of these parasitoids. from may 2002 to april 2004, we sampled neodohrniphor ...	2008	18257954
hygienic behavior, liquid-foraging, and trophallaxis in the leaf-cutting ants, acromyrmex subterraneus and acromyrmex octospinosus.	neotropical leaf-cutting ants (tribe attini) live in obligate symbiosis with fungus they culture for food. to protect themselves and their fungus garden from pathogens, they minimize the entry of microorganisms through mechanical and chemical means. in this study, focusing on the species acromyrmex subterraneus and a. octospinosus, (hymeoptera: formicidae). self- and allo-grooming behavior were quantified and it was found that a. octospinosus workers spend less time in self-grooming than a. subt ...	2009	20053118
resource allocation among worker castes of the leaf-cutting ants acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus through trophallaxis.	the division of labor between the different worker castes of leaf-cutting ants may reflect in their capacity to exchange liquids by trophallaxis. the crop capacity of and trophallactic exchanges between different size classes of worker leaf-cutting ants of the sub-species acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus were investigated. size classes were defined from head capsule widths and crop capacity of each class was determined following ad libitum feeding on dye solution. experiments were carried ou ...	2010	20615411
comparative reproductive biology of the social parasite acromyrmex ameliae de souza, soares & della lucia and of its host acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus forel (hymenoptera: formicidae).	social parasites exhibit several characteristics that allow them to exploit their host species efficiently. the smaller size of parasite species is a trait commonly found in ants. in this work, we investigated several aspects of the reproductive biology of acromyrmex ameliae de souza, soares & della lucia, a recently discovered parasite of acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus forel. sexuals of a. ameliae are substantially smaller than those from host species. parasite queens laid significantly l ...	2010	21120378
Symbiotic bacteria on the cuticle of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus protect workers from attack by entomopathogenic fungi.	Although only discovered in 1999, the symbiotic filamentous actinobacteria present on the integument of certain species of leaf-cutting ants have been the subject of intense research. These bacteria have been shown to specifically suppress fungal garden parasites by secretion of antibiotics. However, more recently, a wider role for these bacteria has been suggested from research revealing their generalist anti-fungal activity. Here we show, for the first time, evidence for a role of these bacter ...	2011	22130174
isolation and characterization of actinobacteria ectosymbionts from acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus (hymenoptera, formicidae).	the ectosymbiont actinobacterium pseudonocardia was isolated from the integument of acromyrmex leaf-cutter ants and seems to play a crucial role in maintaining asepsis of the nest. currently, there has been an intensive search for pseudonocardia associated with several attine species, but few studies have indicated that other actinobacteria may be associated with these ants as well. we therefore characterized the culturable actinobacteria community associated with the integument of the fungus-gr ...	2011	20171857
a new species of szelenyiopria fabritius (hymenoptera: diapriidae), larval parasitoid of acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus (forel) (hymenoptera: formicidae) from brazil.	szelenyiopria talitae sp. nov. is described and illustrated. this species is shown to be a larval parasitoid of acromynnex subterraneus subterraneus (forel).	2013	26213761
ectosymbionts and immunity in the leaf-cutting ant acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus.	associations with symbiotic organisms can serve as a strategy for social insects to resist pathogens. antibiotics produced by attine ectosymbionts (actinobacteria) suppress the growth of escovopsis spp., the specialized parasite of attine fungus gardens. our objective was to evaluate whether the presence or absence of symbiotic actinobacteria covering the whole ant cuticle is related to differential immunocompetence, respiratory rate and cuticular hydrocarbons (chs). we evaluated these parameter ...	2013	23207105
elemental composition of biomineralized amorphous mineral granules isolated from ants: correlation with ingested mineral particles from the soil.	amorphous mineral granules are formed by concentric mineral layers containing polyphosphate, pyrophosphate and/or orthophosphate and several metallic cations such as mg(2+), ca(2+), k(+), mn(2+), fe(3+), cu(2+), and zn(2+). in this work, we analyzed amorphous mineral granules isolated from the ant species camponotus abdominalis, camponotus sp., acromyrmex subterraneus and pachycondyla marginata by energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. the elemental composition of the granules was compared to that of ...	2013	22750041
use of seeds as fungus garden substrate changes the organization of labor among leaf-cutting ant workers.	seeds of different plant species constitute an alternative but also significant substrate that leaf-cutting ants use to cultivate their fungus garden. however, how they are processed inside the nest and if their use implies differential allocation of worker size classes are still poorly known. using laboratory colonies of acromyrmex subterraneus (forel) as a model, the behaviors related to the processing of three different seeds (sesame, guava, and grape) as fungus substrate were listed. at the ...	2015	26050554
escovopsis trichodermoides sp. nov., isolated from a nest of the lower attine ant mycocepurus goeldii.	currently, five species are formally described in escovopsis, a specialized mycoparasitic genus of fungus gardens of attine ants (hymenoptera: formicidae: tribe attini). four species were isolated from leaf-cutting ants in brazil, including escovopsis moelleri and escovopsis microspora from nests of acromyrmex subterraneus molestans, escovopsis weberi from a nest of atta sp. and escovopsis lentecrescens from a nest of acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus. the fifth species, escovopsis aspergillo ...	2015	25576160
mechanism of leaf-cutting ant colony suppression by fipronil used in attractive toxic baits.	attractive toxic baits are the prevailing method for managing leaf-cutting ants in the eucalypt forests planted for the production of pulp, paper, timber and charcoal. for successful use in these baits, the insecticidal compounds need to circumvent the typical defences of the eusocial leaf-cutting ants. the challenge is to have an insecticide in the bait that will not directly harm and/or compromise foraging workers, but that will eventually suppress the colony. these underlying mechanisms are p ...	2016	26817422
chemical and behavioural studies of the trail-following pheromone in the leaf-cutting ant atta opaciceps, borgmeier (hymenoptera: formicidae).	to understand the significance of the trail pheromone used in chemical communication of the leaf-cutting ants atta opaciceps we investigated, under laboratory conditions, the trail-following behaviour of different castes. we observed a clear behavioural discrimination of conspecific venom gland extract of foraging ants from those of other species. additionally, we determined the pheromone composition of a. opaciceps venom gland secretion using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with ma ...	2016	26718582