Reconstructing the functions of endosymbiotic Mollicutes in fungus-growing ants.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sapountzis P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6245734 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Reconstructing the functions of endosymbiotic Mollicutes in fungus-growing ants.
Sapountzis Panagiotis P Zhukova Mariya M Shik Jonathan Z JZ Schiott Morten M Boomsma Jacobus J JJ
eLife 20181120
Mollicutes, a widespread class of bacteria associated with animals and plants, were recently identified as abundant abdominal endosymbionts in healthy workers of attine fungus-farming leaf-cutting ants. We obtained draft genomes of the two most common strains harbored by Panamanian fungus-growing ants. Reconstructions of their functional significance showed that they are independently acquired symbionts, most likely to decompose excess arginine consistent with the farmed fungal cultivars providi ...[more]
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