Open AccessArmy Ants Harbor a Host-Specific Clade of Entomoplasmatales Bacteria
Author(s) -
Colin F. Funaro,
Daniel J. C. Kronauer,
Corrie S. Moreau,
Benjamin Goldman-Huertas,
Naomi E. Pierce,
Jacob A. Russell
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
applied and environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 324
eISSN - 1070-6291
pISSN - 0099-2240
DOI - 10.1128/aem.01896-10
Subject(s) - clade , biology , host (biology) , bacteria , lineage (genetic) , ecology , evolutionary biology , host specificity , symbiosis , diversity (politics) , zoology , phylogenetics , gene , genetics , sociology , anthropology
In this article, we describe the distributions of Entomoplasmatales bacteria across the ants, identifying a novel lineage of gut bacteria that is unique to the army ants. While our findings indicate that the Entomoplasmatales are not essential for growth or development, molecular analyses suggest that this relationship is host specific and potentially ancient. The documented trends add to a growing body of literature that hints at a diversity of undiscovered associations between ants and bacterial symbionts.
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