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Yeasts found on an ephemeral reproductive caste of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa

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Abstract

Winged males of leaf-cutting ants are considered an ephemeral reproductive caste only produced before the mating flight season. Although much is known about the yeast diversity found in fungus gardens of attine ants, no study has focused on the yeasts associated with males of leaf-cutting ants. Here, we surveyed the yeasts on the integuments of males of Atta sexdens rubropilosa and assessed their potential role in the attine ant-microbe symbiosis. Using culture-dependent techniques, we found yeasts to be abundant on the integuments of males (54.5 %, n = 200 alates). A total of 242 yeast strains were obtained representing six orders, ten genera and 25 species. Strains of Aureobasidium, Cryptococcus, Hannaella and Rhodotorula were prevalent on the integuments and likely originated from the fungus garden of the parental nest or from the soil. The majority of strains (87.1 %) produced at least one of the evaluated enzymes: pectinase, polygalacturonase, cellulase, xylanase, ligninases and lipase. Aureobasidium pullulans accounted for the highest number of strains that produced all enzymes. In addition, yeasts showed the ability to assimilate the resulting oligosaccharides, supporting observations of other studies that yeasts may be involved in the plant biomass metabolism in the fungus gardens. Because winged males harbor several yeasts with putative functional roles, these fungi may take part and be beneficial in the microbial consortia of the new incipient nest.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)” for a scholarship to SLA and for financial support (Grant # 560682/2010-7 issued to FCP). We are also grateful to Dr. L.C. Forti from the Department of Vegetal Protection (UNESP) and J.L. Novelli (owner of Fazenda Santana) for providing the facilities during fieldwork. We also would like to thank Dr. O.C. Bueno and Dr. V. Martins for providing the facility for DNA sequencing of yeast samples. We acknowledge ICMBio and CNPq for collecting and access permits, respectively, issued to AR. We are in debt to two anonymous reviewers, the editor Heide-Marie Daniel and L.A. Meirelles for constructive comments and suggestions on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, Campus Rio Claro, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil

    Silvio Lovato Arcuri, Fernando Carlos Pagnocca, Weilan Gomes da Paixão Melo & Andre Rodrigues

  2. Departamento de Bioquímica e Microbiologia, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, Campus Rio Claro, Avenida 24-A, n. 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, 13.506-900, Brazil

    Fernando Carlos Pagnocca & Andre Rodrigues

  3. Departamento de Proteção Vegetal, UNESP – Univ Estadual Paulista, Campus Botucatu, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Nilson Satoru Nagamoto

  4. INPA – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Dirce Leimi Komura

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  1. Silvio Lovato Arcuri
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  2. Fernando Carlos Pagnocca
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  3. Weilan Gomes da Paixão Melo
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  4. Nilson Satoru Nagamoto
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  6. Andre Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Andre Rodrigues.

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Arcuri, S.L., Pagnocca, F.C., da Paixão Melo, W.G. et al. Yeasts found on an ephemeral reproductive caste of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa . Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 106, 475–487 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-014-0216-2

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