Metagenomic and metaproteomic insights into bacterial communities in leaf-cutter ant fungus gardens

• Published in: The ISME Journal Vol. 6; no. 9; pp. 1688 - 1701
• Main Authors: Aylward, Frank O, Burnum, Kristin E, Scott, Jarrod J, Suen, Garret, Tringe, Susannah G, Adams, Sandra M, Barry, Kerrie W, Nicora, Carrie D, Piehowski, Paul D, Purvine, Samuel O, Starrett, Gabriel J, Goodwin, Lynne A, Smith, Richard D, Lipton, Mary S, Currie, Cameron R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.09.2012; Oxford University Press; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/326/2565/547; 631/326/2565/855; 631/326/41/2142; 631/337/475; Amino acids; Animals; Ants - microbiology; Atta; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Citrobacter; Digestive system; Ecology; Enterobacter; Enterobacter - classification; Enterobacter - genetics; Enterobacteriaceae; Escherichia; Evolutionary Biology; Formicidae; Fungi - physiology; Gardens & gardening; Herbivores; Klebsiella; Leaves; Life Sciences; Metagenomics; Metazoa; Microbial activity; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Nitrogen; Nutrient cycles; Original; original-article; Phylogeny; Physiology; Plant biomass; Plants; Proteomics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Symbiosis; Vertebrates; Vitamins; microbial consortia; symbiosis; leaf-cutter ants

Herbivores gain access to nutrients stored in plant biomass largely by harnessing the metabolic activities of microbes. Leaf-cutter ants of the genus Atta are a hallmark example; these dominant neotropical herbivores cultivate symbiotic fungus gardens on large quantities of fresh plant forage. As th...