also, ants cultivate and clone the fungus they eat https://t.co/ikNzHUV4Rp https://t.co/LRXjXS2IKW
Leafcutter ants and "the so-called garden microbiome...that may help suppress diseases." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Leafcutter ants. "Atta gardens contain a great diversity of antibiotic-secreting microbes." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Sequestration into discrete garden units (prevents) a pandemic spread of a disease throughout a nest." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Leafcutter ants. "Sequestration into discrete garden...permits...sealing off an infected garden." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Sequestration into discrete garden units also permits the ants to respond locally to disease." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"A cast of small Atta workers is dedicated largely to the tending and cleaning of garden" fungi as a hygene squad. https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Monoculture's specialized diseases are "the bane of clonally propagated crops in human agriculture." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Monoculture of fungi in...Atta nests is expected to facilitate build-up of specialized diseases." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Analogy to modern farming: monoculture vs polyculture. https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Leafcutter ants. "Polyculture of several fungi could increase..disease resistance of genetically variable gardens." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Leafcutter ants. "Polyculture of several fungi could increase nutritional diversity." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Monoculture eliminates...competitive fungal traits that are detrimental to the ants." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
Leafcutter ants' cultivated Attamyces fungi are "grown by the ants in single-strain, clonal monoculture." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Leafcutter ants depend on the cultivation of symbiotic Attamyces fungi for food." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"A. texana and A. cephalotes are leafcutter ants with enormous colonies (more than 2 million workers)." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Leafcutter ant...the hundreds of Atta gardens can be spaced across an underground volume exceeding 1000 m(3)". https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Leafcutter ant...gardens are discrete units, with an average garden size of about 30×20×20 cm3." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2
"Leafcutter ants' "nests' enormous sizes (up to 5000 gardens) and extended lifespans (10–20 years)." https://t.co/TFhWdd0AL2