Bacterial Communities in the Midgut of Ponerine Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Abstract

Symbiotic microorganisms are directly related to the ecological success of host insects, influencing many aspects of their biology. The present study is the first to investigate the microbiota associated with ants of the subfamily Ponerinae and aims to identify the bacterial midgut communities of Dinoponera lucida, Neoponera curvinodis, Pachycondyla striata, Odontomachus brunneus and Odontomachus bauri relied on culture-dependent technique, particularly 16S rRNA sequencing. The greatest species richness was observed in O. bauri, with 15 OTUs, followed by D. lucida with five OTUs, O. brunneus, with four OTUs, and N. curvinodis and P. striata, both with three OTUs. There were representatives of the phyla Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes and Firmicutes, including the genera Bartonella, Mesoplasma, Mesorhizobium, Spiroplasma, Wolbachia and Serratia in the guts of the studied Ponerine ants. Spiroplasma and Mesoplasma were found to be prevalent in the studied ants and they were the only genera of bacteria found in more than one of the analyzed ant species suggesting they might be beneficial symbionts. The low microbial diversity observed given the predatory trophic habits of the species studied suggests that there is selection for these microorganisms, predominantly preserving symbionts with functional roles that are able to colonize this environment. It is also valid to infer that the identified bacteria are predominant in the gut and exhibit mutualistic functions that are important mainly for immunity, but also to reproduction and nutrition; moreover, a subset may be parasites that could have considerable impacts on the studied ants.

Diversity and Transmission of Gut Bacteria in Atta and Acromyrmex Leaf-Cutting Ants during Development

“…Both Acromyrmex and Atta also maintain Rhizobiales bacteria, which have nitrogen fixing/preservation functions and form a biofilm adhering to the cuticle in the ileum and rectum of workers ( Sapountzis et al, 2015 ; Sapountzis et al, in revision), but there is no direct evidence that Rhizobiales compete with Mollicutes for host resources in the rectum. Mollicutes are also increasingly documented to be widespread among ant species, with recent studies having demonstrated their presence in workers of Solenopsis species, Ponerinae ants, turtle ants, and Atta texana ( Ishak et al, 2011 ; Kautz et al, 2013 ; Meirelles et al, 2016 ; de Oliveira et al, 2016 ). Our experiments clearly indicate that Mollicutes are transmitted through social interactions between workers.…”

Abdominal microbial communities in ants depend on colony membership rather than caste and are linked to colony productivity

“…Candidatus Tokpelaia hoelldoblerii belongs to the family Bartonellaceae and the order of the Rhizobiales. Bacteria from the Bartonellaceae family are often found in ant guts (e.g., Anderson et al, 2012;Liberti et al, 2015;de Oliveira et al, 2016;Stoll, Gadau, Gross, & Feldhaar, 2007), and some have been hypothesized to recycle nitrogenous waste in favor of their ant hosts (Neuvonen et al, 2016;Russell et al, 2009). Surprisingly, T. nylanderi did not harbor any Bartonellaceae (Figure 3).…”

“…Many different insect groups harbor these bacteria, which they have been observed to protect their hosts against parasitism (e.g., Jaenike, Unckless, Cockburn, Boelio, & Perlman, 2010), manipulate sex ratios (Hinrich et al, 2002), and cause disease (e.g., Meeus, Vercruysse, & Smagghe, 2012). In ants, Entomoplasmatales have been found in many species (Funaro et al, 2011;Ishak et al, 2011;Liberti et al, 2015;Łukasik et al, 2017;Oliveira et al, 2016;Sapountzis et al, 2015;Vieira, Ramalho, Martins, Martins, & Bueno, 2017). Although the symbiotic relationship between Entomoplasmatales bacteria and some ants is thought to be ancient (Funaro et al, 2011), their symbiotic role in ants is still unknown and worthy of further investigation.…”

Isolation of Candidatus Bartonella rousetti and Other Bat-associated Bartonellae from Bats and Their Flies in Zambia

“…In another study of insect microbiota, arthropod-associated Bartonella spp. was reported elsewhere [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. For example, Bartonella apis was isolated from the gut of the honeybee ( Apis mellifera ), which might provide honeybees with resistance to diseases [ 30 , 31 ].…”

“…Uncultured Bartonella spp. were also detected from Ponerine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) [ 32 ]. These arthropod-associated bartonellae were considered a symbiotic bacterium.…”