Arcuri Silvio Lovato, Pagnocca Fernando Carlos, Melo Weilan Gomes da Paixão, Nagamoto Nilson Satoru, Komura Dirce Leimi, Rodrigues Andre
Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Campus Rio Claro, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2014 Sep;106(3):475-87. doi: 10.1007/s10482-014-0216-2. Epub 2014 Jul 11.
Winged males of leaf-cutting ants are considered an ephemeral reproductive caste only produced before the mating flight season. Although much is known about the yeast diversity found in fungus gardens of attine ants, no study has focused on the yeasts associated with males of leaf-cutting ants. Here, we surveyed the yeasts on the integuments of males of Atta sexdens rubropilosa and assessed their potential role in the attine ant-microbe symbiosis. Using culture-dependent techniques, we found yeasts to be abundant on the integuments of males (54.5 %, n = 200 alates). A total of 242 yeast strains were obtained representing six orders, ten genera and 25 species. Strains of Aureobasidium, Cryptococcus, Hannaella and Rhodotorula were prevalent on the integuments and likely originated from the fungus garden of the parental nest or from the soil. The majority of strains (87.1 %) produced at least one of the evaluated enzymes: pectinase, polygalacturonase, cellulase, xylanase, ligninases and lipase. Aureobasidium pullulans accounted for the highest number of strains that produced all enzymes. In addition, yeasts showed the ability to assimilate the resulting oligosaccharides, supporting observations of other studies that yeasts may be involved in the plant biomass metabolism in the fungus gardens. Because winged males harbor several yeasts with putative functional roles, these fungi may take part and be beneficial in the microbial consortia of the new incipient nest.
切叶蚁的有翅雄蚁被认为是一种仅在婚飞季节前产生的短暂生殖等级。尽管对阿蒂纳蚁菌圃中发现的酵母多样性已有很多了解，但尚无研究关注与切叶蚁雄蚁相关的酵母。在此，我们调查了红足切叶蚁雄蚁体表的酵母，并评估了它们在阿蒂纳蚁 - 微生物共生关系中的潜在作用。使用依赖培养的技术，我们发现雄蚁体表酵母丰富（54.5%，n = 200只羽化蚁）。共获得242株酵母菌株，代表六个目、十个属和25个种。 Aureobasidium、Cryptococcus、Hannaella和Rhodotorula属的菌株在体表普遍存在，可能源自亲代蚁巢的菌圃或土壤。大多数菌株（87.1%）产生了至少一种评估的酶：果胶酶、多聚半乳糖醛酸酶、纤维素酶、木聚糖酶、木质素酶和脂肪酶。出芽短梗霉产生所有酶的菌株数量最多。此外，酵母显示出同化产生的寡糖的能力，支持了其他研究的观察结果，即酵母可能参与菌圃中的植物生物质代谢。由于有翅雄蚁携带几种具有推定功能作用的酵母，这些真菌可能参与新蚁巢的微生物群落并发挥有益作用。
