Lactobacilli (Lactobacillales: Lactobacillaceae) are well known for their roles in food fermentation, as probiotics, and human health, but they can also be dominant members of the microbiota some species Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps). Honey bees bumble associate with host-specific lactobacilli, evidence suggests that these lactobacilli important bee health. Social transmission helps maintain associations between respective microbiota. To determine whether associated social hymenopteran...

Fungus-farming ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Attini) exhibit some of the most complex microbial symbioses because both macroscopic partners (ants and fungus) are associated with a rich community microorganisms. The ant fungal microbiomes thought to serve important beneficial nutritional defensive roles in these symbioses. While recent research has investigated bacterial communities higher attines (e.g. leaf-cutter genera Atta Acromyrmex), which often antibiotic-producing Actinobacteria,...

Aim We investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of genetic diversity in West Indian and mainland populations a widespread parthenogenic ant (Platythyrea punctata F. Smith) to infer source subsequent colonizations across its geographic range. Location Central America, Texas Indies (Florida, Bahamas, Greater Lesser Antilles). Methods employed phylogeographic reconstruction based on 1451 bp mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunits I II) sequenced from 91 individuals P. punctata....

Social insects, ants in particular, show considerable variation queen number and mating frequency resulting a wide range of social structures. The dynamics reproductive conflicts insect societies are directly connected to the colony kin structure, thus, study relatedness patterns is essential order understand evolutionary resolution these conflicts. We studied structure frequencies two closely related Neotropical ant species Pachycondyla inversa villosa. These represent interesting model...

Abstract Partner fidelity through vertical symbiont transmission is thought to be the primary mechanism stabilizing cooperation in mutualism between fungus‐farming (attine) ants and their cultivated fungal symbionts. An alternate or additional could adaptive partner choice mediating horizontal cultivar de novo domestication of free‐living fungi. Using microsatellite genotyping for attine ant M ycocepurus smithii ITS r DNA sequencing cultivars, we provide first detailed population genetic...

Ants are among the most successful insects in Earth's evolutionary history. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding range-limiting factors that may influence their distribution. The goal this study was to describe environmental (climate and soil types) likely impact ranges five out eight abundant Trachymyrmex species Mycetomoellerius United States. Important allow us better understand each species' We generated habitat suitability maps using MaxEnt for identified associated important...

To explore landscape genomics at the range limit of an obligate mutualism, we use genotyping-by-sequencing (ddRADseq) to quantify population structure and effect host-symbiont interactions between northernmost fungus-farming leafcutter ant Atta texana its two main types cultivated fungus. Genome-wide differentiation ants associated with either fungal is same order magnitude as temperature precipitation across ant's entire range, suggesting that specific ant-fungus genome-genome combinations...

Abstract Insect societies are normally closed entities from which alien individuals excluded. The occasional fusion of unrelated colonies the thelytokous ant Platythyrea punctata is therefore puzzling, because it strongly intensifies competition among nestmates for replacement an old reproductive. Most P. have only one or few reproductives, produce female offspring unfertilized eggs, and a clonal structure. Fusion leads to multi‐clone colonies. We compared occurrence dominance policing...

Animals often exhibit particular ‘personalities’, i.e. their behaviour is correlated across different situations. Recent studies suggest that this limitation of behavioural plasticity may be adaptive, since continuous adjustment one's time-consuming and costly. In social insects, particularly aggressive workers might efficiently take over fighting in the contexts both nest defence ‘policing’, regulation kin conflict society. Here, we examine whether who engage policing ant Platythyrea...

Abstract Geographic parthenogenesis is a distribution pattern, in which parthenogenetic populations tend to live marginal habitats, at higher latitudes and altitudes island‐like habitats compared with the sexual forms. The facultatively ant P latythyrea punctata thought exhibit this general pattern throughout its wide range C entral A merica Caribbean Islands. Workers of P. from aribbean produce diploid female offspring unfertilized eggs by thelytokous parthenogenesis, mated females males...

Over the past few decades, large-scale phylogenetic analyses of fungus-gardening ants and their symbiotic fungi have depicted strong concordance among major clades fungi, yet within clades, fungus sharing is widespread unrelated ant lineages. Sharing has been explained using a diffuse coevolution model clades. Understanding horizontal exchange limited by conventional genetic markers that lack both interspecific geographic variation. To examine whether reports were indeed due to symbiont or...

Abstract Advances in our understanding of symbiotic stability have demonstrated that microorganisms are key to the homeostasis obligate symbioses. Fungus-gardening ants excellent model systems for exploring how may be involved as host and symbionts macroscopic can easily experimentally manipulated. Their coevolutionary history has been well-studied; examinations which depicted broad clade-to-clade specificity between fungus. Few studies hitherto addressed roles microbiomes stabilizing these...

Abstract For nearly all organisms, dispersal is a fundamental life‐history trait that can shape their ecology and evolution. Variation in capabilities within species exists influence population genetic structure ecological interactions. In fungus‐gardening (attine) ants, co‐dispersal of ants mutualistic fungi crucial to the success this obligate symbiosis. Female‐biased (and gene flow) may be favored attines because virgin queens carry responsibility dispersing fungi, but paucity research...

Abstract The southern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum ) has suffered severe reductions in population size over the last 150 years as a result of overhunting. We optimized 10 microsatellite loci and tested them on 30 individuals from largest remaining this species. Five were polymorphic with mean expected heterozygosity 0.578, information content 0.481 number alleles 2.8. Although these data suggest low genetic variability C. s. , an accurate comparison awaits results ongoing...

Abstract Objective The objective of this study is to develop and identify polymorphic microsatellite markers for fungus-gardening (attine) ants in the genus Trachymyrmex sensu lato. These are important ecosystem engineers have been a model group understanding complex symbiotic systems, but very little understood about intraspecific genetic patterns across most North American attine species. will help better population structure, gene flow, mating habits, phylogeographic these species...