Interaction with refuse piles is associated with co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea.

ABSTRACT: Comparing the diversity of gut microbiota between and within social insect colonies can illustrate interactions between bacterial community composition and host behaviour. In many eusocial insect species, different workers exhibit different task behaviours. Evidence of compositional differences between core microbiota in different worker types could suggest a microbial association with the division of labour among workers. Here, we present the core microbiota of Aphaenogaster picea ant workers with different task behaviours. The genus Aphaenogaster is abundant worldwide, yet the associated microbiota of this group is unstudied. Bacterial communities from Aphaenogaster picea gut samples in this study consist of 19 phyla, dominated by Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Fi

SUBMITTER: Pagalilauan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11781628 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature