Bacteria tend leafcutter ants' gardens
Thursday, March 1, 2012 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
New research points to two important roles for bacteria that live in the underground fungal gardens of leafcutter ants: they help decompose leaves that ants bring to the gardens and play a major role in turning those leaves into nutrients for both ants and the fungi. The findings could help researchers studying fungal enzymes to convert plants into biofuel.