Nitrogen conservation, conserved: 46 million years of N-recycling by the core symbionts of turtle ants
Y Hu, J Sanders, P Łukasik, C D'Amelio, J Millar, D Vann, Y Lan, J Newton, M Schotanus, J Wertz, D Kronauer, N Pierce, C Moreau, P Engel, J Russell
This study shows that gut bacteria in Cephalotes ants recycle nitrogen from urea and uric acid to produce essential amino acids, supporting the ants' herbivorous diet over 46 million years.
bioRxiv · Sep 7, 2017Evolutionary Biology