Age-specific patterns in honeydew production and honeydew composition in the aphid Metopeurum fuscoviride: implications for ant-attendance

Fischer, Melanie K.; Völkl, Wolfgang; Schopf, R.; Hoffmann, Klaus H.

doi:10.1016/s0022-1910(01)00179-2

Cited by 89 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Because honeydew and plant exudates are rich in sugar but poor in essential amino acids (33)(34)(35), these ants may require additional nitrogen from alternative sources (30,31,36). Based on the incidence of gut microbes in exudate-feeding ants, Cook and Davidson hypothesized that they rely on the metabolic activities of bacteria to make up for their dietary shortcomings (21).…”

Section: Functional Roles For Symbiotic Gut Bacteria Of Herbivorous Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants

Russell

Moreau²,

Goldman-Huertas³

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

327

463

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Ants are a dominant feature of terrestrial ecosystems, yet we know little about the forces that drive their evolution. Recent findings illustrate that their diets range from herbivorous to predaceous, with ''herbivores'' feeding primarily on exudates from plants and sap-feeding insects. Persistence on these nitrogen-poor food sources raises the question of how ants obtain sufficient nutrition. To investigate the potential role of symbiotic microbes, we have surveyed 283 species from 18 of the 21 ant subfamilies using molecular techniques. Our findings uncovered a wealth of bacteria from across the ants. Notable among the surveyed hosts were herbivorous ''turtle ants'' from the related genera Cephalotes and Procryptocerus (tribe Cephalotini). These commonly harbored bacteria from ant-specific clades within the Burkholderiales, Pseudomonadales, Rhizobiales, Verrucomicrobiales, and Xanthomonadales, and studies of lab-reared Cephalotes varians characterized these microbes as symbiotic residents of ant guts. Although most of these symbionts were confined to turtle ants, bacteria from an ant-specific clade of Rhizobiales were more broadly distributed. Statistical analyses revealed a strong relationship between herbivory and the prevalence of Rhizobiales gut symbionts within ant genera. Furthermore, a consideration of the ant phylogeny identified at least five independent origins of symbioses between herbivorous ants and related Rhizobiales. Combined with previous findings and the potential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, our results strongly support the hypothesis that bacteria have facilitated convergent evolution of herbivory across the ants, further implicating symbiosis as a major force in ant evolution. diversification ͉ Formicidae ͉ Rhizobiales ͉ symbiosis ͉ trophic level I dentifying the mechanisms underlying adaptation and diversification is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Great strides have been made toward this end through the development of fast and affordable molecular tools, and the joint application of molecular phylogenetics and comparative methods (1-3). One unanticipated theme that has emerged from this work is that bacterial symbionts have played key roles in the evolution and diversification of eukaryotes, starting with endosymbiotic origins of mitochondria and chloroplasts (4). Bacterial symbionts are also prevalent among insects that feed on inaccessible or nutritionally marginal diets such as blood, wood, xylem, and phloem (5). Given the demonstrated nutritional roles of these bacteria, their near-ubiquity in insects that specialize on nutrient-poor diets, their long histories of coevolution, and the diversity of the many groups that harbor nutritional symbionts, it is clear that bacteria have had a strong impact on the dietary evolution and diversification of their insect hosts (6).Symbiosis has played an integral role in the evolution of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Throughout the course of their 115-168 million year history (7,8), these diverse and ecologically dominant insects...

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Section: Functional Roles For Symbiotic Gut Bacteria Of Herbivorous Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants

Russell

Moreau²,

Goldman-Huertas³

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

327

463

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“…Honeydew production and honeydew composition vary considerably between aphid species (e.g. Hendrix et al, 1992;Völkl et al, 1999) but may also vary within a particular aphid species in an age-specific pattern (Hertel & Kunkel, 1977;Fischer et al, 2002) or when feeding on different host plants. Douglas (1993) demonstrated differences in the amino acid pattern of the polyphagous aphid species Aphis fabae on different host plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition of polyphagous black bean aphid, Aphis fabae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on various host plants and implications for ant-attendance

Fischer¹,

Völkl²,

Hoffmann³

2005

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Abstract. The black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, is polyphagous and its life cycle involves seasonal migration between summer and winter host plants. The aphids are regularly tended by honeydew-collecting ants. This study investigates whether differences exist in honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition for A. fabae subspecies feeding on various host plants and whether such differences reflect differences in the intensity of ant-atttendance ( Lasius niger).A. f. fabae feeding on the perennial summer host, Tanacetum vulgare, produced twice the amount of honeydew (ca. 110 µg per aphid . h -1

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“…These fi ndings suggest that tending ants promote the population growth of aphids by altering the age structure of a colony. Given that the ants prefer mature aphids because they excrete a larger amount of honeydew than young aphids (Fischer et al, 2002). This modifi cation of aphid age-structure by ants can facilitate the ant-aphid mutualism.…”

Section: Source Of Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mutualism is a reciprocal relationship in which all participants benefi t from the interaction (i.e., the profi ts exceed the costs) (Fischer et al, 2002;Yoo & Holway, 2011;Yao, 2014). The cost to benefi t ratio in mutualism changes with the intrinsic features of both partners (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant

Hosseini¹,

Hosseini²,

Katayama³

et al. 2017

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Age-specific patterns in honeydew production and honeydew composition in the aphid Metopeurum fuscoviride: implications for ant-attendance

Cited by 89 publications

References 37 publications

Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants

Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants

Honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition of polyphagous black bean aphid, Aphis fabae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on various host plants and implications for ant-attendance

Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant

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