The bacterial and fungal community composition in time and space in the nest mounds of the ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

We have previously shown that the fungal and bacterial communities in nests of antsFormicaexsecta are distinct from those in the surrounding soil. Now, the results from our three-year study show that the nests also provide a temporally stable environment, where microbial taxa, less tolerant of climatic fluctuations, could survive through unfavorable seasons. The nest could thus act as a reservoir for such microbial inocula, promoting the divergence of the nest communities over time. AbstractIn a subarctic climate, the seasonal shifts in temperature, precipitation, and plant cover drive the temporal changes in the microbial communities in the topsoil, forcing soil microbes to adapt or decline. Many organisms, such as mound-building ants, survive the cold winter owing to the favorable microclimate in their nest mounds. We have previously shown that the microbial communities in the nest of the antFormicaexsecta are significantly different from those in the surrounding bulk soil. In the current study, we identified taxa, which were consistently present in the nests over a study period of three years. Some taxa were also significantly enriched in the nest samples compared with spatially corresponding reference soils. We show that the bacterial communities in ant nests are temporally stable across years, whereas the fungal communities show greater variation. It seems that the activities of the ants contribute to unique biochemical processes in the secluded nest environment, and cre...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research