Author : Charlotte Barnet Francoeur
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (135 download)
Book Synopsis The Ecology of Secondary Microbial Symbionts by : Charlotte Barnet Francoeur
Download or read book The Ecology of Secondary Microbial Symbionts written by Charlotte Barnet Francoeur and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microbes influence the evolutionary trajectories of animals through symbiosis, which ranges from parasitic to mutualistic associations. Fungus-growing ants engage in multiple microbial symbioses, including an obligate mutualism with a fungus, Leucoagaricus spp., which is the ants' main food source and is cultivated into structures known as 'fungus gardens.' In addition, Escovopsis is a system-specific fungal parasite that destroys Leucoagaricus hyphae. The interactions between the ants, Leucoagaricus, and Escovopsis represent ancient co-evolving symbioses with well-described roles. However, other microbial symbioses within the system are less explored. Metagenomic studies revealed a consistent bacterial community in fungus gardens dominated by Proteobacteria, but the specific functional roles of most of these bacteria are unknown. Likewise, one metagenomic study found bacteriophage in fungus gardens, yet virus presence and dynamics are poorly described. Overall, the goal of my research is to investigate the function and diversity of the understudied secondary bacterial and viral communities present within the multipartite symbiosis of fungus-growing ants. In this dissertation, I use interdisciplinary approaches to assess the functional capacity of bacteria that associate with fungus gardens and to explore viral diversity in the fungus-growing ant system for the first time. In Chapter 2, I explore the ability of fungus garden bacteria to detoxify plant secondary compounds that are harmful to the fungal mutualist, Leucoagaricus spp. Using methods including isolation of bacterial and fungal strains, phenotypic and genomic analyses, and gas-chromatography to quantify toxin degradation, I concluded that plant secondary compound detoxification is a polymicrobial process that includes multiple fungus garden bacterial community members and the fungal mutualist. These microbial associations enable leaf-cutter ants to be the successful generalist herbivores that they are. In Chapter 3, I describe the role of fungus garden-associated bacteria in the genus Burkholderia as potential defensive symbionts that protect the ants against the parasitic fungus Escovopsis. Using selective isolations of bacteria in the family Burkholderiaceae, genomic analysis, competitive bioassays, and analytical chemistry techniques, I found that Burkholderia sp. can inhibit Escovopsis via the production of two synergistic or additive antifungals, pyrrolnitrin and burkholdine1213. In Chapter 4, I performed virus-enriched metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing of fungus-growing ants and Leucoagaricus spp. to identify viruses that associate with the system. Here, I identified 34 eukaryotic viruses that associate with either ant or fungal tissue, with certain viruses demonstrating evolutionary congruence with ant host phylogeny. Overall, my work sheds light on the secondary microbial interactions and functions within the fungus-growing ant system. Together, these studies enhance our knowledge of how fungus-growing ants associate with a diversity of microbes to succeed in the presence of biotic stressors, underscoring the importance of symbiotic microbes on the evolution and ecology of their host.
