Fungal communities in the garden chamber soils of leaf-cutting ants

Leaf-cutting ants modify the properties of the soil adjacent to their nests. Here, we examined whether such an ant-altered environment impacts the belowground fungal communities. Fungal diversity and community structure of soil from the fungus garden chambers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa and Atta bisphaerica, two widespread leaf-cutting ants in Brazil, were determined and compared with non-nest soils. Culture-dependent methods revealed similar species richness but different community compositions between both types of soils. Penicillium janthinellum and Trichoderma spirale were the prevalent isolates in fungus chamber soils and non-nest soils, respectively. In contrast to cultivation methods, analyses of clone libraries based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region indicated that richness of operational taxonomic units significantly differed between soils of the fungus chamber and non-nest soils. FastUnifrac analyses based on ITS sequences further revealed a clear distinction in the community structure between both types of soils. Plectania milleri and an uncultured Clavariaceae fungus were prevalent in fungus chamber soils and non-nest soils, respectively. FastUnifrac analyses also revealed that fungal community structures of soil from the garden chambers markedly differed among ant species. Our findings suggest that leaf-cutting ants affect fungal communities in the soil from the fungus chamber in comparison to non-nest soils. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.

Phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the spider mite genera Aponychus, Paraponychus and Stylophoronychus using morphology (Acari:Tetranychidae)

Despite their great importance as pests of cultivated plants worldwide, members of the family Tetranychidae have never been subjected to a thorough cladistic analysis to reveal the history and relationships among related genera. Herein, we provide the first phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic review of species of the genera Aponychus, Paraponychus and Stylophoronychus using morphological characters. The results indicate a monophyletic clade uniting the aforementioned genera, although none of the three genera were recovered as monophyletic. We reinstate the tribe Aponychini as the taxon containing those three genera. Aponychus bambusae and A. aequilibris are herein considered junior synonyms of Stylophoronychus vannus and A. corpuzae, respectively. © 2013 CSIRO.

Chromosomal diversification of diploid number, heterochromatin and rDNAs in two species of Phanaeus beetles (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

História natural das serpentes dos gêneros Echinanthera e Taeniophallus (Echinantherini)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise filogenética de Scotaenini (Hymenoptera, Vespoidea, Tiphiidae, Thynninae)

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Anatomia dos órgãos vegetativos de representantes da tribo Cranichideae (Orchidoideae: Orchidaceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Streptomyces associados a formigas da tribo Attini e seus efeitos sobre os fungos Escovopsis weberi e outros microrganismos

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Microbiologia Aplicada) - IBRC

Taxonomia e características metabólicas de leveduras isoladas de bitus de Atta sexdens rubropilosa

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Microbiologia Aplicada) - IBRC

Biologia de Acromyrmex balzani Emery, 1890 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Morfologia do trato digestivo de formigas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Variação morfofisiológica das castas da vespa enxameante neotropical Polybia (Trichothorax) ignobilis durante sua ontogenia colonial (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBRC

Revisão taxonômica e análise filogenética de espécies de Aponychus Rimando, Praponychus Gonzáles & Flechtmann e Stylophoronychus Prasad (Acari, Eurytetranychini)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Caracterização espermáticas na subfamília Cichlinae (Perciformes : Chlidae) e suas implicações filogenéticas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Filogenia molecular de Atta sexdens (Myrmicinae : Attini) e investigação de pseudogenes em formigas da tribo Attini

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização do transcriptoma e genoma mitocondrial da formiga cortadeira Atta laevigata (Formicidae : Attini)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)