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Digestive capacities of leaf-cutting ants and the contribution of their fungal cultivar to the degradation of plant material

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Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants (tribe Attini) are a unique group of ants that cultivate a fungus that serves as a main source of their food. The fungus is grown on fresh leaves that are harvested by workers. We examine the respective contribution of ants and their symbiotic fungus in the degradation of plant material by examining the digestive capacities of seven Attini species in the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. The results show that both, the ants and their mutualistic fungi, have complementary enzymatic activities. Ants are specialized in the degradation of low molecular weight substrates (oligosaccharides and heterosides) whereas the fungus displays high polysaccharidase activity. The two genera Atta and Acromyrmex are not distinguished by a specific enzymatic activity. The seven different mutualistic associations examined display a similar enzymatic profile but have quantitative differences in substrate degradation activities. The respective contribution of ants and the fungus garden in plant degradation are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Pr. Jacobus J. Boomsma, The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) for the logistic help (facilities to work in Gamboa and the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente y el Mar (ANAM) for permission to sample ant colonies in Panama), Terezinha Della Lucia for her contribution in collecting the Acromyrmex colonies in Brazil, and Boris Baer for providing A. cephalotes ants. We wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments. We also thank O. Lefevre for English translation, J. Parker for English revision and C. Currie for his comments.

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  1. Freddie-Jeanne Richard

    Present address: Chemical Ecology group, Lennard Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, England

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR CNRS 6035, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, Parc de Grandmont, 37200, Tours, France

    Freddie-Jeanne Richard & Christine Errard

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecophysiologie des Invertébrés, Université Paris XII Val de Marne, Avenue du Général De Gaulle, 94010, Créteil Cedex, France

    Philippe Mora & Corinne Rouland

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  1. Freddie-Jeanne Richard
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  2. Philippe Mora
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Correspondence to Freddie-Jeanne Richard.

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Communicated by G. Heldmaier

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Richard, FJ., Mora, P., Errard, C. et al. Digestive capacities of leaf-cutting ants and the contribution of their fungal cultivar to the degradation of plant material. J Comp Physiol B 175, 297–303 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-005-0485-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-005-0485-1

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