ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2019
Azteca ants maintain unique microbiomes across functionally distinct nest chambers.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatial segregation and cross-kingdom interactions drive stingless bee hive microbiome assembly.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Gram-Negative Bacteria Across Spatial Scales: A Meta-Analysis of Ant-Associated Bacterial Communities Under Distinct Environmental Conditions.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Social organization and physical environment shape the microbiome of harvester ants.Animal microbiome · 2025Article
- Interaction with refuse piles is associated with co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea.Access microbiology · 2025Article
- Ant's Nest as a microenvironment: DistinctEcology and evolution · 2024Article
- Dynamics and drivers of fungal communities in a multipartite ant-plant association.BMC biology · 2024Article
- Foraging ants affect community composition and diversity of phyllosphere fungi on a myrmecophilous plants,Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Microbiology of the built environment: harnessing human-associated built environment research to inform the study and design of animal nests and enclosures.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2023Review
- Bacterial diversity in arboreal ant nesting spaces is linked to colony developmental stage.Communications biology · 2023Article
- An Old World leaf-cutting, fungus-growing ant: A case of convergent evolution.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Fungi as mutualistic partners in ant-plant interactions.Frontiers in fungal biology · 2023Review
- Molecular Rationale of Insect-Microbes Symbiosis-From Insect Behaviour to Mechanism.Microorganisms · 2021Review
- Gram-negative bacteria associated with a dominant arboreal ant species outcompete phyllosphere-associated bacteria species in a tropical canopy.Oecologia · 2021Article
- Insights Into the Ecological Role ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Article
- Do Host Plant and Associated Ant Species Affect Microbial Communities in Myrmecophytes?Insects · 2019Article
- Azteca ants maintain unique microbiomes across functionally distinct nest chambers.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The microbiome of built structures has considerable influence over an inhabitant's well-being, yet the vast majority of research has focused on human-built structures. Ants are well-known architects, capable of constructing elaborate dwellings, the microbiome of which is underexplored. Here, we explore the bacterial and fungal microbiomes in functionally distinct chambers within and outside the nests of Azteca alfari ants in Cecropia peltata trees. We predicted that A. alfari colonies (1) maintain distinct microbiomes within their nests compared to the surrounding environment, (2) maintain distinct microbiomes among nest chambers used for different functions, and (3) limit both ant and plant pathogens inside their nests. In support of these predictions, we found that internal and external nest sampling locations had distinct microbial communities, and A. alfari maintained lower bacterial richness in their 'nurseries'. While putative animal pathogens were suppressed in chambers that ants actively inhabited, putative plant pathogens were not, which does not support our hypothesis that A. alfari defends its host trees against microbial antagonists. Our results show that ants influence microbial communities inside their nests similar to studies of human homes. Unlike humans, ants limit the bacteria in their nurseries and potentially prevent the build-up of insect-infecting pathogens. These results highlight the importance of documenting how indoor microbiomes differ among species, which might improve our understanding of how to promote indoor health in human dwellings.
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