Taxonomy and systematics of Escovopsis symbionts of Apterostigma

• Grant number: 24/15045-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: April 10, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: André Rodrigues
• Grantee: Isaias Assis Alves
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/03746-0 - Collaborative Research: Dimensions US-São Paulo: Integrating phylogeny, genetics, and chemical ecology to unravel the tangled bank of the multipartite fungus-farming ant symbiosis, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

The fungus genus Escovopsis (Ascomycota, Hypocreaceae) shares an evolutionary history with the fungus-growing attine ants (Attini, Attina). For several years, studies on Escovopsis were focused solely on its ecological interaction with fungi cultivated by the attines. However, recent studies have shown that attine colonies has a great taxonomic diversity of Escovopsis spp. Colonies of Apterostigma ants (Attina, Palleottini) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest were not entirely explored regarding the diversity of Escovopsis. Therefore, it is assumed that these colonies harbor new taxa of these hypocrealean fungus. Here, we will carry out a systematic and taxonomic analysis of 25 Escovopsis isolates obtained from colonies of Apterostigma collected in two areas of the Atlantic Forest: Itatiaia National Park (Rio de Janeiro) and Intervales State Park (São Paulo). This study will potentially reveal new species, thus expanding our knowledge on the taxonomic diversity of hypocreaceous fungi that exclusively inhabit colonies of fungus-growing ants.