Metabolic potential of bacterial microbiomes from fungus gardens of Attini ants

Abstract

Fungus-growing ants in the tribe Attini maintain mutualistic association with fungi that are cultivated for food. Fungus gardens of these insects harbors a complex microbiome, including yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria. Several lines of evidence suggest that the bacterial community found in the fungus garden perform physiological functions for the colony, such as nitrogen fixation, plant biomass degradation, nutrient biosynthesis and antimicrobial defenses. Our main goal is to compare the metabolic potential of the bacterial microbiome from the fungiculture practiced by Atta sexdens rubropilosa (leaf-cutter fungiculture in which fresh leaves are used as substrate for fungus cultivation) and Mycocepurus goeldii (lower fungiculture in which dry parts of plants, seeds and others substrates are used for fungus cultivation). From a bacterial enrichment of fungus gardens of these ants, the total DNA of the bacterial community was extracted and sequenced. Here, we aim to perform the assembly and analysis of the metabolic potential of our dataset, using specific softwares. Such analyses are fundamental to support the data processing and will be carried out in Dr. Cameron Robert Currie's lab (Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, EUA). This lab present a wide experience in studies regarding ecology and evolution of the attine ants-microbial association. Along the past years, Dr. Curie and his team unraveled several aspects of the microbial diversity in this environment, revealing various functions performed by micro-organisms in this microbiome. Since this lab harbors the required specialists and tools to explore the two metagenomes generated, the analyses to be carried out in the Currie Lab are essential for the development of the master project in which this proposal is attached. (AU)