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Ant–fungus Mutualism
The ant–fungus mutualism is a symbiosis seen between certain ant and fungal species, in which ants actively cultivate fungus much like humans farm crops as a food source. There is only evidence of two instances in which this form of agriculture evolved in ants resulting in a dependence on fungi for food. These instances were the attine ants and some ants that are part of the ''Megalomyrmex'' genus. In some species, the ants and fungi are dependent on each other for survival. This type of codependency is prevalent among herbivores who rely on plant material for nutrition. The microbes’ ability to convert the plant material into a food source accessible to their host makes them the ideal partner. The leafcutter ant is a well-known example of this symbiosis. Leafcutter ants species can be found in southern South America up to the United States. However, ants are not the only ground-dwelling arthropods which have developed symbioses with fungi. A mutualism with fungi is also noted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atta Colombica Queen
Atta or ATTA may refer to: * Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur * ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae * ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy * Atta flour, whole wheat flour made from durum wheat commonly used in South Asian cooking * Atta (Buddhism), Pali for "self" or "soul", central to the core Buddhist concept of Anatta, no-self * Atta, Jalandhar, a village in India * ATTA, acronym of Akabar n Tagrawla d Tanemla Amazigh, or Berber Socialism and Revolution Party * A group of Lumad peoples * Princess Atta, a character from the Disney and Pixar film ''A Bug's Life'' * Ata (name) Ata is the anglicized form of several names in several languages around the world. * In Turkish, Ata is a masculine given name meaning " Forefather". * In Hebrew, Ata () means "you". * In Ogba, Ata means “child”. * In Arabic, () is a name m ..., people with the first name or family name, sometimes spelled ''Atta'' See also * Attar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apterostigma
''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of other species in Attini who grow Lepiotaceae, some species have begun cultivating Tricholomataceae. Species *'' Apterostigma acre'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma ancilonodum'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma andense'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma angustum'' Lattke, 1997 *''Apterostigma auriculatum'' Wheeler, 1925 *''Apterostigma avium'' Lattke, 1997 *''Apterostigma bolivianum'' Weber, 1938 *''Apterostigma bruchi'' Santschi, 1919 *''Apterostigma callipygium'' Lattke, 1997 *''Apterostigma calverti'' Wheeler, 1911 *'' Apterostigma carinatum'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma chocoense'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma collare'' Emery, 1896 *'' Apterostigma convexum'' Lattke, 1997 *'' Apterostigma dentigerum'' Wheeler, 1925 *'' Apterostigma depressum'' L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mutualism (biology)
Mutualism describes the ecological interaction between two or more species where each species has a net benefit. Mutualism is a common type of ecological interaction. Prominent examples include most vascular plants engaged in mutualistic interactions with mycorrhizae, flowering plants being pollinated by animals, vascular plants being dispersed by animals, and corals with zooxanthellae, among many others. Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition, in which each species experiences ''reduced'' fitness, and exploitation, or parasitism, in which one species benefits at the expense of the other. The term ''mutualism'' was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in his 1876 book ''Animal Parasites and Messmates'' to mean "mutual aid among species". Mutualism is often conflated with two other types of ecological phenomena: cooperation and symbiosis. Cooperation most commonly refers to increases in fitness through within-species (intraspecific) interactions, althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudonocardia
''Pseudonocardia'' is the type genus of the bacteria family Pseudonocardiaceae. Members of this genus have been found living mutualistically on the cuticle of the leafcutter ants because the bacteria has antibiotic properties that protect the fungus grown by the ants. When they are grooming, their legs are passed over their mouth gland (metapleural gland) that produces the antibiotic and then their legs touch the fungi while they are walking around. The ants have metapleural glands that produce the antimicrobial components to eliminate the ''Escovopsis'' fungi. The bacteria may also be found in crypts on the propleural plate. ''Pseudonocardia'' is found to have antibiotic properties provided to the leaf-cutter ant to inhibit the growth of ''Escovopsis'', which is a black yeast that parasitizes the leaf-cutter ant. ''Pseudonocardia'' can be found in both aquatic (including marine) and terrestrial ecosystems. ''Pseudonocardia'' belongs to the phylum ''Actinobacteria.'' Most ''Actinob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parasitism
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as Armillaria mellea, honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the Orobanchaceae, broomrapes. There are six major parasitic Behavioral ecology#Evolutionarily stable strategy, strategies of exploitation of animal hosts, namely parasitic castration, directly transmitted parasitism (by contact), wikt:trophic, trophicallytransmitted parasitism (by being eaten), Disease vector, vector-transmitted paras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escovopsis
''Escovopsis'' is a genus of seven formally acknowledged parasitic microfungus species that rely on other fungi to be their hosts. This genus formally circumscribed with a single identified species in 1990; in 2013 three other species were added. In an early 2015 published study, scientists collected five species of ''Escovopsis'' from both genera of fungus-growing ants, ''Atta'' and ''Acromyrmex'', four of which came from ant colonies in Brazil and the fifth of which came from Trinidad. These ''Escovopsis'' species included '' E. moelleri'', '' E. microspora'', '' E. weberi'', '' E. lentecrescens'', and '' E. aspergilloides''. The research revealed another ''Escovopsis'' species ('' E. trichodermoides'') isolated and derived from the lower attine ant, ''Mycocepurus goeldii''. It was determined to be a species independent of the other five species because of its complex branch system and varying conidiophores, which lack typical swelling. A separate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner's Dilemma
The Prisoner's Dilemma is an example of a game analyzed in game theory. It is also a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner ("defect") for individual reward. This dilemma was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher while working at RAND in 1950. Albert W. Tucker appropriated the game and formalized it by structuring the rewards in terms of prison sentences and named it "prisoner's dilemma". William Poundstone in his 1993 book ''Prisoner's Dilemma'' writes the following version:Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of speaking to or exchanging messages with the other. The police admit they don't have enough evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge. They plan to sentence both to two years in prison on a lesser charge. Simultaneously, the police offer each prisoner a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leucoagaricus Gongylophorus
''Leucoagaricus gongylophorus'' is a fungus in the family Agaricaceae which is cultivated by certain leafcutter ants. Like other species of fungi cultivated by ants, ''L. gongylophorus'' produces gongylidia, nutrient-rich hyphal swellings upon which the ants feed. Production of mushrooms occurs only once ants abandon the nest. ''L. gongylophorus'' is farmed by leaf cutter ant species belonging to the genera ''Atta'' and ''Acromyrmex'', amongst others. Description ''L. gongylophorus'' is completely dependent on ants for survival with workers feeding it cut plant matter and new queens carrying a piece of mycelium in their infrabuccal pocket (a specialised structure within the mouth) in order to found a new colony. For both its source of nutrition and mechanism of spreading it is reliant on the ants. The species has co-evolved with ants so thoroughly that it can no longer rely upon producing mushrooms to emit spores as a viable survival mechanism as it has lost the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Propagule
In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms such as plants (in the form of seeds or spores), fungi (in the form of spores), and bacteria (for example endospores or microbial cysts). In disease biology, pathogens are said to generate infectious propagules, the units that transmit a disease. These can refer to bacteria, viruses, fungi, or protists, and can be contained within host material. For instance, for influenza, the infectious propagules are carried in droplets of host saliva or mucus that are expelled during coughing or sneezing. In horticulture, a propagule is any plant material used for the purpose of plant propagation. In asexual reproduction, a propagule is often a stem cutting. In some plants, a leaf section or a portion of root can be used. In sexual reproduction, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gongylidia
Gongylidia (singular gongylidium) are hyphal swellings of fungus cultivated by higher-attine genera of fungus-growing ants. This fungus no longer exists naturally outside the ant colonies. Gongylidia are fed to the developing larvae and distributed throughout the colony to feed workers, soldiers, and the queen. They are ellipsoid, about 30-50 micrometres in diameter, rich in lipids and carbohydrates derived from the leaves, and are produced in clusters (called staphylae). See also *Pearl body *Leucoagaricus gongylophorus ''Leucoagaricus gongylophorus'' is a fungus in the family Agaricaceae which is cultivated by certain leafcutter ants. Like other species of fungi cultivated by ants, ''L. gongylophorus'' produces gongylidia, nutrient-rich hyphal swellings u ... References Fungal morphology and anatomy Myrmecology {{Ant-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepiotaceae
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was published by French botanist François Fulgis Chevallier in 1826. It is named after the type genus ''Agaricus'', originally circumscribed by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work ''Species Plantarum''. In his authoritative 1986 classification of the Agaricales, Rolf Singer divided the Agaricaceae into four tribes distinguished largely by spore color: ''Leucocoprineae'', ''Agariceae'', ''Lepioteae'', and ''Cystodermateae''. Genera once classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Battarreaceae, Lycoperdaceae, and Mycenastraceae have since been moved to the Agaricaceae based on molecular phylogenetics studies. According to a standard reference text, the Agaricaceae contains 85 genera and 1340 species. Description Agaricaceae species use a wide variety of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
