| specificity of the mutualistic association between actinomycete bacteria and two sympatric species of acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants. | acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants maintain two highly specialized, vertically transmitted mutualistic ectosymbionts: basidiomycete fungi that are cultivated for food in underground gardens and actinomycete pseudonocardia bacteria that are reared on the cuticle to produce antibiotics that suppress the growth of escovopsis parasites of the fungus garden. mutualism stability has been hypothesized to benefit from genetic uniformity of symbionts, as multiple coexisting strains are expected to compete and, ... | 2005 | 16156826 |
| immune defense in leaf-cutting ants: a cross-fostering approach. | to ameliorate the impact of disease, social insects combine individual innate immune defenses with collective social defenses. this implies that there are different levels of selection acting on investment in immunity, each with their own trade-offs. we present the results of a cross-fostering experiment designed to address the influences of genotype and social rearing environment upon individual and social immune defenses. we used a multiply mating leaf-cutting ant, enabling us to test for patr ... | 2011 | 21644963 |