Polymorphic microsatellite markers for the symbiotic fungi cultivated by leaf cutter ants (Attini, Formicidae)

Jarrod J Scott; Matthew K Weskin; Michael Cooper; Ulrich G Mueller

doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02684.x

Polymorphic microsatellite markers for the symbiotic fungi cultivated by leaf cutter ants (Attini, Formicidae)

Mol Ecol Resour. 2009 Sep;9(5):1391-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02684.x. Epub 2009 Apr 1.

Authors

Jarrod J Scott¹, Matthew K Weskin, Michael Cooper, Ulrich G Mueller

Affiliation

¹ Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

PMID: 21564916
DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02684.x

Abstract

We developed 23 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the symbiotic fungi cultivated by leaf cutter ants, then assessed allelic variation in North American leafcutter-fungus populations (Mexico, Cuba, USA). Polyploidy was indicated by 21 of the 23 loci, consistent with the multinucleate nature of leafcutter fungi. Microsatellite fingerprinting can now assess fungal genetic variation within leafcutter nests to test for monoculture of the cultivated fungi.