Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2012 Jun;15(3):269-77. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2012.03.001. Epub 2012 Mar 23.
The symbiosis between fungus-farming ants (Attini, Formicidae), their cultivated fungi, garden-infecting Escovopsis pathogens, and Pseudonocardia bacteria on the ant integument has been popularized as an example of ant-Escovopsis-Pseudonocardia co-evolution. Recent research could not verify earlier conclusions regarding antibiotic-secreting, integumental Pseudonocardia that co-evolve to specifically suppress Escovopsis disease in an ancient co-evolutionary arms-race. Rather than long-term association with a single, co-evolving Pseudonocardia strain, attine ants accumulate complex, dynamic biofilms on their integument and in their gardens. Emerging views are that the integumental biofilms protect the ants primarily against ant diseases, whereas garden biofilms protect primarily against garden diseases; attine ants selectively recruit ('screen in') microbes into their biofilms; and the biofilms of ants and gardens serve diverse functions beyond disease-suppression.
菌食性蚂蚁（Attini，膜翅目）与其培养的真菌、侵害蚁巢的 Escovopsis 病原体以及蚂蚁体表的 Pseudonocardia 细菌之间的共生关系已被广泛认为是蚂蚁- Escovopsis-Pseudonocardia 协同进化的一个例子。最近的研究无法证实早期关于抗生素分泌、与表皮协同进化的 Pseudonocardia 的结论，这些 Pseudonocardia 专门抑制 Escovopsis 疾病，这是古老的协同进化军备竞赛的结果。菌食性蚂蚁并不是与单一的、协同进化的 Pseudonocardia 菌株长期关联，而是在其体表和蚁巢中积累复杂的动态生物膜。新兴观点认为，表皮生物膜主要保护蚂蚁免受蚂蚁疾病的侵害，而蚁巢生物膜主要保护蚁巢免受蚁巢疾病的侵害；菌食性蚂蚁会选择性地将微生物招募到其生物膜中；蚂蚁和蚁巢的生物膜除了抑制疾病外还具有多种功能。
