http://nimravid.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/ants-ally-actinomycetes/ Hunting down the past one discovery at a time. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:18:08 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://nimravid.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/ants-ally-actinomycetes/#comment-466 tony Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:12:59 +0000 http://nimravid.wordpress.com/?p=99#comment-466 How do you kill these mother fuckers How do you kill these mother fuckers

]]> http://nimravid.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/ants-ally-actinomycetes/#comment-263 Ford Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:52:45 +0000 http://nimravid.wordpress.com/?p=99#comment-263 "natural selection for more active culture of antifungal bacteria" I always wonder how this works. Why aren't bacteria that use their resources to produce antifungal compounds out-competed by strains that use those resources for their own reproduction, instead, assuming that any benefits to the bacteria from killing Escovopsis are shared (tragedy of the commons)? If "individual ants carried up to three strains", maybe the bacteria benefit from producing chemicals that kill other bacteria with which they compete directly (on the same ant), with any effects on fungi being a side-effect? This is analogous to a hypothesis we propose to explain why some rhizosphere bacteria make toxins that (happen to?) kill plant pathogens (Kiers and Denison, Annual Review of Ecology, in press). But, under this hypothesis, you might expect the ant bacteria to be as likely to kill the food fungus as the Escovopsis. “natural selection for more active culture of antifungal bacteria”
I always wonder how this works. Why aren’t bacteria that use their resources to produce antifungal compounds out-competed by strains that use those resources for their own reproduction, instead, assuming that any benefits to the bacteria from killing Escovopsis are shared (tragedy of the commons)? If “individual ants carried up to three strains”, maybe the bacteria benefit from producing chemicals that kill other bacteria with which they compete directly (on the same ant), with any effects on fungi being a side-effect? This is analogous to a hypothesis we propose to explain why some rhizosphere bacteria make toxins that (happen to?) kill plant pathogens (Kiers and Denison, Annual Review of Ecology, in press). But, under this hypothesis, you might expect the ant bacteria to be as likely to kill the food fungus as the Escovopsis.

]]> http://nimravid.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/ants-ally-actinomycetes/#comment-207 myrmecos Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:32:09 +0000 http://nimravid.wordpress.com/?p=99#comment-207 The attine/fungus system is turning out to be an extraordinarily rich vein of research. Thanks for blogging it- I expect we'll continue to see plenty more, especially with regards to the microbes. The attine/fungus system is turning out to be an extraordinarily rich vein of research. Thanks for blogging it- I expect we’ll continue to see plenty more, especially with regards to the microbes.

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