Microbial Community Composition Reveals Spatial Variation and Distinctive Core Microbiome of the Weaver Ant Oecophylla smaragdina in Malaysia

Abstract

The weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina is an aggressive predator of other arthropods and has been employed as a biological control agent against many insect pests in plantations. Despite playing important roles in pest management, information about the microbiota of O. smaragdina is limited. In this work, a number of O. smaragdina colonies (n = 12) from Malaysia had been studied on their microbiome profile using Illumina 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We characterized the core microbiota associated with these O. smaragdina and investigated variation between colonies from different environments. Across all 12 samples, 97.8% of the sequences were assigned to eight bacterial families and most communities were dominated by families Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae. Comparison among colonies revealed predominance of Acetobacteraceae in O. smaragdina from forest areas but reduced abundance was observed in colonies from urban areas. In addition, our findings also revealed distinctive community composition in O. smaragdina showing little taxonomic overlap with previously reported ant microbiota. In summary, our work provides information regarding microbiome of O. smaragdina which is essential for establishing healthy colonies. This study also forms the basis for further study on microbiome of O. smaragdina from other regions.

Formicine ants swallow their highly acidic poison for gut microbial selection and control

“…Given the ubiquitous presence of crop lumen acidification in our comparative survey of formicine ant species (Fig. 1c) and the gut microbiota structuring properties of acidic gut compartments in humans (Imhann et al, 2016) and fruit flies (Overend et al, 2016), it is likely that host filtering (Mazel et al, 2018) through acidification of crop lumens can explain the recurrent presence of Acetobacteracea in the gut of formicine ants and the otherwise reduced microbial diversity and abundance of gut associated microbes (Brown and Wernegreen, 2016, Chua et al, 2018, Ivens et al, 2018). On the other hand, some formicine gut associated Acetobacteracea show signs of genomic and metabolic adaptations to their host environment (Brown and Wernegreen, 2019), indicating coevolution and potentially also mutual benefit, though this has not formally been established (see also Mushegian and Ebert, 2016).…”

“…Asaia sp. is capable of cross-colonizing insects of phylogenetically distant genera and orders (Crotti et al, 2009, Favia et al, 2007) and can be a component of the gut associated microbial community of formicine ants (Chua et al, 2018, Kautz et al, 2013a, Kautz et al, 2013b). In addition to S. marcescens and Asaia sp.…”

“…Here we investigate how formicine ants, specifically the Florida carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus , solve the challenge to control harmful microbes in their food while allowing acquisition and transmission of beneficial microbes from and with their food. Apart from specialized intracellular endosymbionts associated with the midgut in the ant tribe Camponotini (Degnan et al, 2004, Feldhaar et al, 2007, Russell et al, 2017, Williams and Wernegreen, 2015), formicine ant species have only low abundances of microbial associates in their gut lumen but carry members of the bacterial family Acetobacteracea as a major part of their gut microbiota (Brown and Wernegreen, 2016, Chua et al, 2018, He et al, 2011, Ivens et al, 2018). Some formicine gut associated Acetobacteracea show signs of genomic and metabolic adaptations to their host environment indicating coevolution (Brown and Wernegreen, 2019).…”

First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—A Case Study

“…However, for most samples, only Proteobacteria was predominant. That phylum has also been identified as a significant part of the bacterial communities associated with the leaf-cutting ants genera Atta and Acromyrmex [65], the plant-ant genera Allomerus and Tetraponera [74], the turtle ant Cephalotes rohweli [67] or the weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina [75]. Interestingly, for D. pygmaeus samples, Proteobacteria was less abundant (<44%) and Actinobacteria was more frequently identified than in the rest of bacterial communities tested (>29%) ( Table S1).…”

Oecophyllibacter saccharovoransgen. nov. sp. nov., a bacterial symbiont of the weaver antOecophylla smaragdina

“…By 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, our previous study has shown that several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the family Acetobacteraceae were consistently detected in microbiota of O. smaragdina [21]. These OTUs were assigned to genus Neokomagataea and were categorized as core members of the O. smaragdina microbiome.…”