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Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0, Open
Preprint
Nitrogen conservation, conserved: 46 million years of N-recycling by the core symbionts of turtle ants
bioRxiv
07 Sep 2017
Abstract
Nitrogen acquisition is a major challenge for herbivorous animals, and the repeated origins of herbivory across the ants have raised expectations that nutritional symbionts have shaped their diversification. Direct evidence for N-provisioning by internally housed symbionts is rare in animals; among the ants, it has been documented for just one lineage. In this study we dissect functional contributions by bacteria from a conserved, multi-partite gut symbiosis in herbivorous Cephalotes ants through in vivo experiments, (meta)genomics, and in vitro assays. Gut bacteria recycle urea, and likely uric acid, using recycled N to synthesize essential amino acids that are acquired by hosts in substantial quantities. Specialized core symbionts of 17 studied Cephalotes species encode the pathways directing these activities, and several recycle N in vitro. These findings point to a highly efficient N-economy, and a nutritional mutualism preserved for millions of years through the derived behaviors and gut anatomy of Cephalotes ants.
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Details
- Title
- Nitrogen conservation, conserved: 46 million years of N-recycling by the core symbionts of turtle ants
- Creators
- Yi HuJon SandersPiotr ukasikCatherine D'amelioJohn MillarDavid VannYemin LanJustin NewtonMark Schotanus - Calvin UniversityJohn WertzDaniel KronauerNaomi PierceCorrie MoreauPhilipp Engel - University of LausanneJacob Russell
- Publication Details
- bioRxiv
- Publisher
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; Cold Spring Harbor
- Resource Type
- Preprint
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Other Identifier
- 991020950433704721