Speaker: Prof. Yi Hu, Beijing Normal University [website]

Title: Symbiotic solution to nitrogen limitation in herbivorous ants

Abstract: 

Nitrogen acquisition poses a significant challenge for herbivorous animals. To address this, many insect groups have evolved symbiotic relationships with microbes, allowing them to thrive in otherwise inhospitable niches. Ants provide an excellent model for studying these relationships due to their diverse diets. While the majority of ant species are predators or omnivores, some have evolved to be functional herbivores. The multiple independent origins of herbivory in ants offer a unique opportunity to investigate how symbiotic relationships can alleviate nitrogen limitations. In our research, we examine the functional contributions of symbiotic bacteria in herbivorous Cephalotes and Tetraponera ants using amplicon and metagenomic sequencing, as well as manipulative experiments. Our results demonstrate that symbiotic bacteria in both Cephalotes and Tetraponera ants are crucial for recycling nitrogenous wastes and using the recycled nitrogen to synthesize essential amino acids. These findings highlight a conserved form of nutritional mutualism in herbivorous ants and provide new insights into how symbiotic bacteria facilitate the exploitation of nitrogen-poor diets in these species.