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Ant identity determines the fungi richness and composition of a myrmecochorous seed

Fernandes, Tiago V ; Fernandes, Otavio L ; Gomes, Inácio J M T ; Solar, Ricardo R C ; Campos, Ricardo I Bhadauria, Tunira

PloS one, 2024-03, Vol.19 (3), p.e0293377-e0293377 [Periódico revisado por pares]

United States: Public Library of Science

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  • Título:
    Ant identity determines the fungi richness and composition of a myrmecochorous seed
  • Autor: Fernandes, Tiago V ; Fernandes, Otavio L ; Gomes, Inácio J M T ; Solar, Ricardo R C ; Campos, Ricardo I
  • Bhadauria, Tunira
  • Assuntos: Animals ; Ants ; Biology and Life Sciences ; Fungi ; Germination ; Identification and classification ; Medicine and Health Sciences ; Plants ; Properties ; Seed Dispersal ; Seeds
  • É parte de: PloS one, 2024-03, Vol.19 (3), p.e0293377-e0293377
  • Notas: ObjectType-Article-1
    SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
    ObjectType-Feature-2
    content type line 23
    Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
  • Descrição: Myrmecochory-seed dispersal by ants-is a mutualistic interaction in which ants attracted by seed appendices take them away from the parental plant location, where seeds usually have better development odds. Not all ant species benefit plants, and the mechanisms of those divergent outcomes are still unclear, especially from the perspective of microbial third parties. Here, we explore the effects of seed manipulation on fungi communities promoted by two ant species with contrasting effects on seed germination and antimicrobial cleaning strategies. We hypothesize that: i) fungi richness is higher in seeds manipulated by Acromyrmex subterraneus (species that negatively affect seed germination), followed by unmanipulated seeds and seeds manipulated by Atta sexdens (ant species that increase seed germination) and ii) seeds manipulated by A. sexdens, Ac. subterraneus and unmanipulated seeds present dissimilar fungi compositions. We identified fungal morphotypes in three groups of seeds: i) manipulated by A. sexdens; ii) manipulated by Ac. subterraneus; iii) unmanipulated. Seeds manipulated by Ac. subterraneus exhibited higher fungal richness than those manipulated by A. sexdens and unmanipulated seeds, indicating that the ant species known to impair germination increases the fungal load on seeds. Additionally, we found that A. sexdens ants were unable to reduce fungal richness compared to unmanipulated seeds. Furthermore, fungal composition differed among all three treatments. Our results underscore the significance of ant species identity in shaping the fungal communities associated with myrmecochorous seeds. Given the potential influence of microbial infection on seed fate, we suggest considering manipulation strategies when evaluating the overall quality of an ant as a seed disperser.
  • Editor: United States: Public Library of Science
  • Idioma: Inglês
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  • Realização: ABCD-USP USP   Logos de Redes Sociais: Freepik

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