ArticleMicrobiologyOpen2021
The bacterial and fungal community composition in time and space in the nest mounds of the ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nest Microbial Community Dynamics Within the Nest-Building Stage of Green-Backed Tits (Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Xerophilic Aspergillaceae Dominate the Communities of Culturable Fungi in the Mound Nests of the Western Thatching Ant (Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Ant's Nest as a microenvironment: DistinctEcology and evolution · 2024Article
- Fungi as mutualistic partners in ant-plant interactions.Frontiers in fungal biology · 2023Review
- Article
- The bacterial and fungal community composition in time and space in the nest mounds of the ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).MicrobiologyOpen · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In a subarctic climate, the seasonal shifts in temperature, precipitation, and plant cover drive the temporal changes in the microbial communities in the topsoil, forcing soil microbes to adapt or decline. Many organisms, such as mound-building ants, survive the cold winter owing to the favorable microclimate in their nest mounds. We have previously shown that the microbial communities in the nest of the ant Formica exsecta are significantly different from those in the surrounding bulk soil. In the current study, we identified taxa, which were consistently present in the nests over a study period of three years. Some taxa were also significantly enriched in the nest samples compared with spatially corresponding reference soils. We show that the bacterial communities in ant nests are temporally stable across years, whereas the fungal communities show greater variation. It seems that the activities of the ants contribute to unique biochemical processes in the secluded nest environment, and create opportunities for symbiotic interactions between the ants and the microbes. Over time, the microbial communities may come to diverge, due to drift and selection, especially given the long lifespan (up to 30 years) of the ant colonies.
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