The effects of fungal garden switches on the bacterial microbiome of fungus-gardening ants (Trachymyrmex spp. and Mycetomoellerius turrifex)

Fungus-gardening ants (Trachymyrmex spp. and Mycetomoellerius turrifex) have symbiotic relationships with both the fungal cultivar they grow and the microbes in their microbiome. Prior work has found that the bacterial microbiome of fungus-gardening ants is well defined and species-specific. On the other hand, the bacterial microbiome of the symbiotic fungus garden appears to have a strong environmental component. Unfortunately, many of these patterns are correlative; meaning we lack an understanding on how microbiomes of the host and symbiont are influenced by the partners that comprise the interaction. For example, leaf-cutter ants (Atta spp. and Acromyrmex spp.) grow primarily ‘Clade A’ fungi (Leucoagaricus gongylophorus), whereas ants in the genera Trachymyrmex and Mycetomoellerius grow several lineages of undescribed Leucoagaricus species (referred to as ‘Clade B’), yet there several exceptions to this general rule in that some Trachymyrmex are known to grow Clade A and some leaf-cutters that grow Clade B.  In this study, we report the results of an experiment where we forced newly mated queens of T. septentrionalis and M. turrifex to grow fungus belonging to Clade A or B, with an equal number of queens from both species receiving either type of fungus. After three months, workers ants will be removed from the incipient colonies for microbiome analysis using the Qiime2 pipeline and compared within the species to see the resulting changes in the microbiome.