Food processing and digestion in the mushroom hunting ant Euprenolepis procera

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Volker Witte
• Subject Area: Animal Physiology and Biochemistry
• Term: from 2011 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 190545824

Ants are known to utilize a great diversity of natural resources and they show fascinating adaptations to their particular niches. A previously unknown life style was discovered recently in ants of the genus Euprenopepis: the hunt for wild mushrooms. Nothing about the biology of Euprenolepis ants was previously known. It turns out, however, that these ants are widespread in SE-Asian rainforest habitats, and that they represent the most important consumers of fungal fruiting bodies. This exceptional life-style comes along with unusual and specific adaptations. Studies on life-style adaptations of E. procera, the most abundant mushroom hunting ant, have been recently completed. Field experiments showed that E. procera accesses a dietary niche with low competition. Foraging and nesting behaviors are unusual for a formicine ant, making them well adapted for an efficient exploitation of the spatiotemporally unpredictable mushrooms. The almost exclusive use of the challenging mushroom diet suggested that specific adaptations exist also in terms of nutrition and digestion. Our preliminary studies provide evidence for unique food processing and digestive abilities of E. procera, a detailed investigation of which is the focus of the present grant proposal.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants