New antifungal compound from ant farms

(American Chemical Society) Attine ants are farmers, and they grow fungus as food.Pseudonocardia andStreptomyces bacteria are their farmhands, producing metabolites that protect the crop from pathogens. Surprisingly, these metabolites lack common structural features across bacteria from different geographic locations, even though the ants share a common ancestor. Now, researchers report inACS Central Science they have identified the first shared antifungal compound among many of these bacteria across Brazil. The compound could someday have medical applications.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news