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The Leaf-Cutting Ant–plant Interaction from a Microbial Ecology Perspective

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All Flesh Is Grass

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 16))

Abstract

Herbivory is a key ecological process in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The interaction between plants and herbivores is responsible for energy and nutrient flow, population regulation, and the shaping of vegetation physiognomy and species composition (Barbour et al., 1999). Digestion of plant material is a complex chemical process that in some cases goes beyond the metabolic capacity of multicellular organisms. A key metabolic bottleneck for multicellular organisms is their lack of the enzyme set required for degradation of those cell wall components (cellulose, lignin) that provide structural strength to terrestrial plants (Robbins, 1993). This limitation has been solved by some herbivores through evolutionary processes that led to interactions between herbivores and microorganisms, because microorganisms are capable of performing metabolic processes, such as decomposition of structural biopolymers, nitrogen fixation, and oxidation of inorganic compounds (Paul and Clark, 1996).

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  1. Microbiología Agrícola. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, cc 509. 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

    Adriana Abril

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Abril, A. (2010). The Leaf-Cutting Ant–plant Interaction from a Microbial Ecology Perspective. In: Dubinsky, Z., Seckbach, J. (eds) All Flesh Is Grass. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9316-5_2

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