%0 Journal Article
%T Microbial Community Structure of Leaf-Cutter Ant Fungus Gardens and Refuse Dumps
%A Jarrod J. Scott
%A Kevin J. Budsberg
%A Garret Suen
%A Devin L. Wixon
%A Teri C. Balser
%A Cameron R. Currie
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0009922
%X Leaf-cutter ants use fresh plant material to grow a mutualistic fungus that serves as the ants' primary food source. Within fungus gardens, various plant compounds are metabolized and transformed into nutrients suitable for ant consumption. This symbiotic association produces a large amount of refuse consisting primarily of partly degraded plant material. A leaf-cutter ant colony is thus divided into two spatially and chemically distinct environments that together represent a plant biomass degradation gradient. Little is known about the microbial community structure in gardens and dumps or variation between lab and field colonies.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0009922