Symbiotic Association Between Ants and Fungus

Abstract Ants are eusocial insects belong to family Formicidae and live in symbiotic association with different species of the fungus. Fungi serving them as food and others relationship between fungus and ants is fungi increase the durability of the nest ants living in carton nests in the trees. Our goal was to investigate through literature obvious interactions between ants and common fungi, protection of ants' colonies from pathogens and uses of fungal isolates in sustainable agriculture. Fungal bank in the ants colony is their source of food and colonies of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are attacked by numerous parasites, pathogens, and parasitoids that exploit entire colonies and their resources. Symbiotic fungi strains belonging to Penicillium found in ants nests are antibiotic producer. High frequency and high diversity of these colonies suggested that insects preferentially sustained this fungus for their survival. Fungal growing ants evolved a close mutualistic relationship with multiple species of Actinobacteria belonging to the genus Pseudonocardia for protection of colony from various diseases. Fungus-growing ants and Pseudonocardia symbionts are novel and significant source of antibiotic and antifungal agents and used as model system due to experimental tractability and well-studied ecology. Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Lecanicillium psalliotae are Entomopathogenic fungi found in mutualistic association with Attine ants used in a much smaller scale. Formulation of entomopathogenic fungi-based pesticides biosynthesis of fungal-based nanoparticles at industrial scale is useful in recent sustainable agriculture. Graphical Abstract