Study
Fungus-growing ants use antibiotic-producing bacteria to control garden parasites
Currie, Cameron R.; Scott, James A.; Summerbell, Richard C.; Malloch, David
Nature, 1999
Whitish deposits on the bodies of fungus-growing ants were cultured and identified, and the bacteria isolated from them were tested against the specialised parasite that attacks the ants' fungus gardens.
- Studied in
- Atta, Acromyrmex, Pseudonocardia, Escovopsis
- Sample size
- colonies and isolates across multiple attine genera
The deposits are colonies of filamentous bacteria that produce compounds suppressing *Escovopsis*, the parasite specific to attine fungus gardens. The ants carry them in specialised body structures.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Attine ants maintain a symbiosis with antibiotic-producing bacteria to protect their crop — a three-way agricultural system.
How NatureHQ reads it
Leafcutter ants do not eat leaves; they farm a fungus on them. This paper added the part nobody expected: the ants also carry a bacterial partner that produces antifungal compounds against the one parasite that specialises in attacking their crop. Growing a monoculture and needing crop protection turns out not to be a human invention, and the system is tens of millions of years old.
- Antibiotic activity demonstrated in culture; the extent of protection in a living colony is harder to quantify.
- Specificity of the bacteria has been debated in later work.
- Covers a subset of the many fungus-growing ant species.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.