ReviewInsects2012
The Evolutionary Innovation of Nutritional Symbioses in Leaf-Cutter Ants.
Review in Insects, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining the Assembly of the Bacterial Community Associated with the Fungus Garden of Atta mexicana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Does Queen Origin Matter?Current microbiology · 2025Article
- Telomere bacteriophages are widespread and equip their bacterial hosts with potent interbacterial weapons.Science advances · 2025Article
- A Klebsiella-phage cocktail to broaden the host range and delay bacteriophage resistance both in vitro and in vivo.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Article
- Symbiont-Mediated Protection ofmBio · 2021Article
- Article
- Yeasts in the nests of the leaf-cutter ant Acromyrmex balzani in a Savanna biome: exploitation of community and metabolic diversity.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2021Article
- Article
- Metagenomics Reveals Diet-Specific Specialization of Bacterial Communities in Fungus Gardens of Grass- and Dicot-Cutter Ants.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
- Potential Distribution of Six North American Higher-Attine Fungus-Farming Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Species.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2019Article
- Major changes in microbial diversity and community composition across gut sections of a juvenile Panchlora cockroach.PloS one · 2017Article
- The good, the bad and the tasty: The many roles of mushrooms.Studies in mycology · 2016Article
- Small genome of the fungus Escovopsis weberi, a specialized disease agent of ant agriculture.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2016Article
- Article
- Article
- The fungal symbiont of Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants expresses the full spectrum of genes to degrade cellulose and other plant cell wall polysaccharides.BMC genomics · 2013Article
- Proteomic analysis of the quorum-sensing regulon in Pantoea stewartii and identification of direct targets of EsaR.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2013Article
- Complete Genome of Serratia sp. Strain FGI 94, a Strain Associated with Leaf-Cutter Ant Fungus Gardens.Genome announcements · 2013Article
- Complete Genome of Enterobacteriaceae Bacterium Strain FGI 57, a Strain Associated with Leaf-Cutter Ant Fungus Gardens.Genome announcements · 2013Article
- Polydnaviruses of Parasitic Wasps: Domestication of Viruses To Act as Gene Delivery Vectors.Insects · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fungus-growing ants gain access to nutrients stored in plant biomass through their association with a mutualistic fungus they grow for food. This 50 million-year-old obligate mutualism likely facilitated some of these species becoming dominant Neotropical herbivores that can achieve immense colony sizes. Recent culture-independent investigations have shed light on the conversion of plant biomass into nutrients within ant fungus gardens, revealing that this process involves both the fungal cultivar and a symbiotic community of bacteria including Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pantoea species. Moreover, the genome sequences of the leaf-cutter ants Atta cephalotes and Acromyrmex echinatior have provided key insights into how this symbiosis has shaped the evolution of these ants at a genetic level. Here we summarize the findings of recent research on the microbial community dynamics within fungus-growing ant fungus gardens and discuss their implications for this ancient symbiosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.