Myrmecol. News 35: 211-229
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.25849/myrmecol.news_035:211
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2025
- Title:
Unveiling the bacterial world of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a systematic review of patterns, drivers, and evolutionary insights
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 35
- Pages: 211-229
- Type of contribution: Review Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Abstract:
Ants are renowned for engaging in diverse symbiotic relationships, particularly with bacteria, for over 50 million years – a key factor in their ecological dominance across terrestrial ecosystems. With advancements in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, numerous studies have focused on uncovering ant-bacterial interactions. However, significant gaps remain as many aspects of these interactions are still unexplored. Our study aimed to identify patterns of symbiotic interactions between ants and bacterial communities through a comprehensive literature review and a comparative meta-analysis. Our findings highlight which ant subfamilies, genera, and bacterial taxa (analyzed via both Sanger and high-throughput sequencing) have been most frequently studied as well as the geographic regions that are well-researched and those requiring greater attention. Additionally, we reveal the critical roles of diet, geographic distribution, and host phylogeny in shaping bacterial community diversity within these interactions. This study underscores the importance of integrating ecological, evolutionary, and microbial perspectives to advance our understanding of ant-bacterial interaction, ultimately contributing to the broader field of myrmecology
- Key words: Bacterial communities, microbiome, cospeciation, mutualism, specialization, meta-analysis, review
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 35: 211-229, Supplement
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 35: 211-229, Dataset S1
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 35: 211-229, Dataset S2
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500