A survey of the filamentous fungi other than the symbiotic one found in association with Atta sexdens rubropilosa colonies was carried out. Different fungal species (27 taxa) were isolated a few days after treating the workers with toxic baits (sulfluramid; Mirex-S), from 40 laboratory and 20 field nests. Syncephalastrum racemosum (54%) and Escovopsis weberi (21%), Trichoderma harzianum (38%) and Fusarium oxysporum (23%) were the prevalent species in laboratory and field nests, respectively. Acremonium kiliense, Acremonium strictum, E. weberi, F. oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Moniliella suaveolens and T. harzianum were found in both nests' groups. We revealed that many filamentous fungi can co-exist in a dormant state inside the nests of these insects and some of them appear to be tightly associated with this environment.

Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais UNESP 13506 900 Rio Claro São Paulo Brazil

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1997 Mar;71(3):243-8 PubMed

Science. 1966 Aug 5;153(3736):587-604 PubMed

Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2002;47(3):259-62 PubMed

Annu Rev Entomol. 1975;20:1-30 PubMed

Science. 1970 Jul 10;169(3941):184-6 PubMed

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Jul 6;96(14):7998-8002 PubMed

Proc Biol Sci. 2004 Feb 7;271 Suppl 3:S104-6 PubMed

Science. 2003 Jan 17;299(5605):386-8 PubMed

Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2004 Sep;54(Pt 5):1891-1894 PubMed

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2003;83(2):167-74 PubMed

Oecologia. 2001 Jun;128(1):99-106 PubMed

FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2004 Oct 15;239(2):319-23 PubMed

Braz J Med Biol Res. 2004 Oct;37(10):1463-72 PubMed

J Insect Physiol. 2003 Apr;49(4):307-13 PubMed

Characterization of N2O emissions and associated microbial communities from the ant mounds in soils of a humid tropical rainforest