The Genome Sequence of the Leaf-Cutter Ant Atta cephalotes Reveals Insights into Its Obligate Symbiotic Lifestyle

被引：197

作者：

Suen, Garret ^{[1
,2
]}

Teiling, Clotilde ^{[3
]}

Li, Lewyn ^{[4
]}

Holt, Carson ^{[5
]}

Abouheif, Ehab ^{[6
]}

Bornberg-Bauer, Erich ^{[7
]}

Bouffard, Pascal ^{[4
]}

Caldera, Eric J. ^{[1
,8
]}

Cash, Elizabeth ^{[9
]}

Cavanaugh, Amy ^{[1
,10
]}

Denas, Olgert ^{[11
]}

Elhaik, Eran ^{[12
]}

Fave, Marie-Julie ^{[6
]}

Gadau, Juergen ^{[9
]}

Gibson, Joshua D. ^{[9
]}

Graur, Dan ^{[13
]}

Grubbs, Kirk J. ^{[1
,14
]}

Hagen, Darren E. ^{[15
]}

Harkins, Timothy T. ^{[3
]}

Helmkampf, Martin ^{[9
]}

Hu, Hao ^{[5
]}

Johnson, Brian R. ^{[16
]}

Kim, Jay ^{[17
]}

Marsh, Sarah E. ^{[1
,18
]}

Moeller, Joseph A. ^{[1
,2
]}

Munoz-Torres, Monica C. ^{[15
]}

Murphy, Marguerite C. ^{[19
]}

Naughton, Meredith C. ^{[20
]}

Nigam, Surabhi ^{[19
]}

Overson, Rick ^{[9
]}

Rajakumar, Rajendhran ^{[6
]}

Reese, Justin T. ^{[15
]}

Scott, Jarrod J. ^{[1
,2
,21
]}

Smith, Chris R. ^{[20
]}

Tao, Shu ^{[15
]}

Tsutsui, Neil D. ^{[16
]}

Viljakainen, Lumi ^{[22
]}

Wissler, Lothar ^{[7
]}

Yandell, Mark D. ^{[5
]}

Zimmer, Fabian ^{[7
]}

Taylor, James ^{[11
,23
]}

Slater, Steven C. ^{[1
,2
]}

Clifton, Sandra W. ^{[24
]}

Warren, Wesley C. ^{[24
]}

Elsik, Christine G. ^{[15
]}

Smith, Christopher D. ^{[17
]}

Weinstock, George M. ^{[24
]}

Gerardo, Nicole M. ^{[23
]}

Currie, Cameron R. ^{[1
,2
,21
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Bacteriol, Madison, WI 53706 USA

[2] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Energy, Great Lakes Bioenergy Res Ctr, Madison, WI USA

[3] Roche Diagnost, Indianapolis, IN USA

[4] 454 Life Sci, Branford, CT USA

[5] Univ Utah, Dept Human Genet, Salt Lake City, UT USA

[6] McGill Univ, Dept Biol, Montreal, PQ H3A 1B1, Canada

[7] Univ Munster, Inst Evolut & Biodivers, Munster, Germany

[8] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Zool, Madison, WI 53706 USA

[9] Arizona State Univ, Sch Life Sci, Tempe, AZ USA

[10] Univ Wisconsin Rock Cty, Dept Biol, Janesville, WI USA

[11] Emory Univ, Dept Math & Comp Sci, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA

[12] Johns Hopkins Univ, Sch Med, Baltimore, MD USA

[13] Univ Houston, Dept Biol & Biochem, Houston, TX USA

[14] Univ Wisconsin, Cellular & Mol Pathol Grad Program, Madison, WI USA

[15] Georgetown Univ, Dept Biol, Washington, DC 20057 USA

[16] Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Environm Sci Policy & Management, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA

[17] San Francisco State Univ, Dept Biol, San Francisco, CA 94132 USA

[18] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Genet, Madison, WI 53706 USA

[19] San Francisco State Univ, Dept Comp Sci, San Francisco, CA 94132 USA

[20] Earlham Coll, Dept Biol, Richmond, IN 47374 USA

[21] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Balboa, Ancon, Panama

[22] Cornell Univ, Dept Mol Biol & Genet, Ithaca, NY USA

[23] Emory Univ, Dept Biol, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA

[24] Washington Univ, Sch Med, Genome Ctr, St Louis, MO USA

来源：

PLOS GENETICS | 2011年 / 7卷 / 02期

基金：

美国国家卫生研究院; 美国食品与农业研究所; 美国国家科学基金会;

关键词：

DE-NOVO IDENTIFICATION; INSULIN-LIKE PEPTIDES; DIVISION-OF-LABOR; GENE ONTOLOGY; MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME; DNA METHYLATION; FUNGUS GARDENS; APIS-MELLIFERA; BACTERIA; EXPRESSION;

D O I：

10.1371/journal.pgen.1002007

中图分类号：

Q3 [遗传学];

学科分类号：

071007 ; 090102 ;

摘要：

Leaf-cutter ants are one of the most important herbivorous insects in the Neotropics, harvesting vast quantities of fresh leaf material. The ants use leaves to cultivate a fungus that serves as the colony's primary food source. This obligate ant-fungus mutualism is one of the few occurrences of farming by non-humans and likely facilitated the formation of their massive colonies. Mature leaf-cutter ant colonies contain millions of workers ranging in size from small garden tenders to large soldiers, resulting in one of the most complex polymorphic caste systems within ants. To begin uncovering the genomic underpinnings of this system, we sequenced the genome of Atta cephalotes using 454 pyrosequencing. One prediction from this ant's lifestyle is that it has undergone genetic modifications that reflect its obligate dependence on the fungus for nutrients. Analysis of this genome sequence is consistent with this hypothesis, as we find evidence for reductions in genes related to nutrient acquisition. These include extensive reductions in serine proteases (which are likely unnecessary because proteolysis is not a primary mechanism used to process nutrients obtained from the fungus), a loss of genes involved in arginine biosynthesis (suggesting that this amino acid is obtained from the fungus), and the absence of a hexamerin (which sequesters amino acids during larval development in other insects). Following recent reports of genome sequences from other insects that engage in symbioses with beneficial microbes, the A. cephalotes genome provides new insights into the symbiotic lifestyle of this ant and advances our understanding of host-microbe symbioses.

引用

页数：11

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