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Nematode associates and bacteria in ant-tree symbioses

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Abstract

Ant-plant mutualisms are a prominent phenomenon in tropical rainforest ecosystems. In South East Asia the most important ant-tree symbiosis is the Macaranga complex. Until now it has been known to consist of four obligate and specific partner organisms, trees, ants, endophytic trophobiotic scale insects and endophytic fungi. Here we show that two more organisms are integrated in the system. In the stem domatia, masses of bacteria were cultivated in piles consisting of plant food body remains and ant faeces. They were consumed by masses of specific bacteriovorous nematodes. The nematodes could be identified as rhabditids, mainly Diploscapter sp., as well as a few Sclerorhabditis specimens belonging to two new species. These genera are known to be myrmecophilous and suspected of being consumed and digested by the ants. We hypothesize that with this new type of two-step association the ants obtain and recycle scarce nutrients. This is important in a system where the specific ants are highly adapted to the association, and depend exclusively on plant resources as they do not hunt and forage off the plant. The nematodes are even vertically transferred by the swarming queens and therefore present in new claustral colony foundations. Nematode breeding was found in three further, but not in all investigated tree-ant associations. These observations underline the still largely unexplored role of micro-symbionts in insects, and a potential new source of complexity in the trophic interactions in tropical ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Ruppel, Frankfurt for the scanning electron microscope photos and their interpretation, W. Dorow for ant determination and M. Merbach for support. We are grateful to two anonymous referees for their constructive comments and language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Anemonenweg 33, 63263, Neu-Isenburg, Germany

    Ulrich Maschwitz

  2. Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    Brigitte Fiala

  3. Im Maierbrühl 59, 70112, Freiburg, Germany

    Klaus Dumpert

  4. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Rosli bin Hashim

  5. FU Berlin, Fachbereich Biologie, Institut für Zoologie, Königin-Luise-Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Walter Sudhaus

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  1. Ulrich Maschwitz
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  2. Brigitte Fiala
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  4. Rosli bin Hashim
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  5. Walter Sudhaus
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Correspondence to Ulrich Maschwitz.

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Maschwitz, U., Fiala, B., Dumpert, K. et al. Nematode associates and bacteria in ant-tree symbioses. Symbiosis 69, 1–7 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-015-0367-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-015-0367-6

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