Myrmecocystus honeypot ants have species specific resident gut microbiome

Abstract

Myrmecocystus honeypot ants rely on specialized workers, repletes, to store dissolved carbohydrates in their crops long term. The repletes store this liquid, which does not spoil in their crops, for many months at a time. When resources are scarce, repletes redistribute the stored nutrients to their colony members via trophallaxis. While we suspect that the gut microbiome of honeypot ants may aid in spoilage prevention, before we can investigate this, we must first characterize it. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to determine the microbial community composition across six Myrmecocystus honeypot ant species, sampling multiple colonies, castes, and organs. We found that microbiome community composition was strongly shaped by species, with variation between colonies in M. arenarius, M. depilis, and M. mexicanus. Organ level differences were observed in the crop and midgut in M. mexicanus. Caste differences were observed in M. flaviceps and M. mexicanus. Replete crops of M. mexicanus and M. depilis were enriched in Fructilactobacillus, other lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria, whereas halophiles were more prominent in the gut of species such as M. flaviceps and M. wheeleri. In this study we demonstrate that Myrmecocystus ants host species-specific gut microbiomes and identify an association between lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and halophiles within replete crops. While much work remains in understanding the roles of the microbes in the symbiosis with their host ants, the dominance of these particular taxonomic groups suggests an association with a high sugar environment and a potential microbial role in preventing spoilage of the crop contents.