Microbial Ecology (2019) 77, 1067-1081

Ana Flávia Canovas Martinez, Luís Gustavo de Almeida, Luiz Alberto Beraldo Moraes and Fernando Luís Cônsoli (2019)
Microbial diversity and chemical multiplicity of culturable, taxonomically similar bacterial symbionts of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex coronatus
Microbial Ecology 77 (4), 1067-1081
Abstract: Insects are a highly diverse group, exploit a wide range of habitats, and harbor bacterial symbionts of largely unknown diversity. Insect-associated bacterial symbionts are underexplored but promising sources of bioactive compounds. The community of culturable bacteria associated with the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex coronatus (Fabricius) and the diversity of their metabolites produced were investigated. Forty-six phylotypes belonging to Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria were identified. The chemical profiles of 65 isolates were further analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and principal components analysis (PCA) was used to group the isolates according to their chemical profiles. Historically, selection of bacterial strains for drug discovery has been based on phenotypic and/or genotypic traits. Use of such traits may well impede the discovery of new compounds; in this study, several indistinguishable phylotypes cultured in identical nutritional and environmental conditions produced completely different chemical profiles. Our data also demonstrated the wide chemical diversity to be explored in insect-associated symbionts.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Fernando L. Consoli

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acromyrmex coronatus