Digging into the evolutionary history of the fungus-growing-ant symbiont, Escovopsis (Hypocreaceae).

ABSTRACT: Symbiotic relationships shape the evolution of organisms. Fungi in the genus Escovopsis share an evolutionary history with the fungus-growing "attine" ant system and are only found in association with these social insects. Despite this close relationship, there are key aspects of Escovopsis evolution that remain poorly understood. To gain further insight into the evolutionary history of these unique fungi, we delve deeper into Escovopsis' origin and distribution, considering the largest sampling, so far, across the Americas. Furthermore, we investigate Escovopsis' trait evolution, and relationship with attine ants. We demonstrate that, while the genus originated approximately 56.9 Mya, it only became associated with 'higher attine' ants in the last 38 My. Our results, however, indicate tha

SUBMITTER: Montoya QV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12423291 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature