Towards a molecular understanding of symbiont function: identification of a fungal gene for the degradation of xylan in the fungus gardens of leaf-cutting ants.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Leaf-cutting ants live in symbiosis with a fungus that they rear for food by providing it with live plant material. Until recently the fungus' main inferred function was to make otherwise inaccessible cell wall degradation products available to the ants, but new studies have shed doubt on this idea. To provide evidence for the cell wall degrading capacity of the attine ant symbiont, we designed PCR primers from conserved regions of known xylanase genes, to be used in PCR with genomic DNA from the symbiont as template. We also measured xylanase, cellulase and proteinase activities in the fungus gardens in order to investigate the dynamics of degradation activities.

Results

We cloned a xylanase gene from the mutualistic fungus of Acromyrmex echinatior, determined it

SUBMITTER: Schiott M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2291056 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature