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Microbial Composition in Two Ant Species Across a Geographic Region in Florida

Patricia Perez

Authors:  Patricia Perez, Tori Argenti, Andrew Nisip, Marina Ascunce

Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Marina Ascunce

College:   College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Abstract

Microbes’ symbiotic relationships with their host are thought to be one of the factors responsible for the ecological success of many plants and animals, like ants. However, the nature and dynamic of microbial communities in the invasive Solenopsis invicta, the Red Imported Fire Ant, is unknown. In this study, we characterize the bacterial community of S. invicta and Dorymyrmex bureni, a native ant, where both species live in sympatry at the UF Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce and at the UF Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in Melrose. It has been found that many species of ants possess diverse and stable microbial communities. Thus, we hypothesize that the microbial communities in S. invicta and in D. bureni, are going to be different, while within each species different sites are going to have similar microbes. Ants were collected using pitfall traps, for S. invicta ants were also directly sampled from their nests. Analysis is being done using QIIME and R software on highthroughput bacterial ribosomal 16S amplicon sequencing data. Conclusions reached by this study will allow for a further understanding of how the invasive S. invicta interacts with Florida’s native environment compared to a native ant like D. bureni.

Poster Pitch

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Poster

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20 Responses
  1. Marina Ascunce

    Hi!
    Thank you for visiting our poster. We are holding an open zoom virtual presentation from 3 to 4pm, and with an special family and kids friendly talk from 3:45 to 4pm, please join us using the link below.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://ufl.zoom.us/j/417389623?pwd=VWgxTmhLUkFDUFRiRWtDdmpSTHhkQT09

    Meeting ID: 417 389 623
    Password: iris2020

    If you are interested in our research topic on Ants and Microbes or would like a virtual educational visit, please email Dr. Ascunce (ascunce@ufl.edu) and also visit our companion poster: https://cur.aa.ufl.edu/2020/03/31/cure-ants-and-microbes-zollota-perez-allen-and-argeni/
    (also available for zoom from 3 to 4pm).
    Dr. Ascunce

  2. Patricia Perez

    Hi!
    Thank you for visiting our poster. We are holding an open zoom virtual presentation for our lab’s CURE class from 3 to 4pm, and with an special family and kids friendly talk from 3:45 to 4pm, please join us using the link below.
    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://ufl.zoom.us/j/417389623?pwd=VWgxTmhLUkFDUFRiRWtDdmpSTHhkQT09
    Meeting ID: 417 389 623
    Password: iris2020
    If you are interested in our research topic on Ants and Microbes or would like a virtual educational visit, please email Dr. Ascunce (ascunce@ufl.edu) and also visit our companion poster: https://cur.aa.ufl.edu/2020/03/31/cure-ants-and-microbes-zollota-perez-allen-and-argeni/

  3. Patricia Perez

    Hi!
    Thank you for visiting our poster. We are holding an open zoom virtual presentation for our lab’s CURE class from 3 to 4pm, and with an special family and kids friendly talk from 3:45 to 4pm, please join us using the link below.
    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://ufl.zoom.us/j/417389623?pwd=VWgxTmhLUkFDUFRiRWtDdmpSTHhkQT09
    Meeting ID: 417 389 623
    Password: iris2020
    If you are interested in our research topic on Ants and Microbes or would like a virtual educational visit, please email Dr. Ascunce (ascunce@ufl.edu) and also visit our companion poster: https://cur.aa.ufl.edu/2020/03/31/cure-ants-and-microbes-zollota-perez-allen-and-argeni/

    1. Patricia Perez

      Hi Jieli!

      We actually have not gotten the chance to fully sequence all the ants, so while I know what overlap has been found in other studies I do not know what overlap there is in the ants we collected.

      Thank you for your comment

      1. Jieli W

        You’re welcome c:

        My question is on the collection and identification process of your ant samples. How difficult/time consuming was it for you to ID each ant and what were the primary defining characteristics you used? Also, did you plan to include differences between the castes of minor and major worker ants for each species?

        Thank you for your presentation!

        1. Patricia Perez

          Hello!

          Each pitfall trap had to be sorted into different species present, and from there each species was identified and separated into separate vials. It was somewhat time consuming and repetitive but resulted in sound consistent identification. The diversity of ants found meant that many morphological features came into play like petiole shape and number, head shape, hair distribution and size, as well as shape of teeth on mandible. Minor and Major workers where found throughout the sites and traps.

  5. Sara Sutton

    Hi Patricia! This is such an interesting project! I was wondering if you think the bacteria associated with the S. invicta ants might have a negative effect on the native Dorymyrmex buremi? Thanks!

    1. Patricia Perez

      Well, ants can horizontally transfer bacteria and acquire bacteria from the environment to some degree as well as affect the bacterial diversity in the soil around their nests, but I am not familiar with any literature that supports direct use of bacteria on other ants as a possible strategy of S. invicta. The diversity of bacteria in S. invicta could have been a key to its success in their invasive range and could have made it a better competitor for resources against native ants like D. bureni, however, this effect is not direct.

  6. Caroline McMillan

    Hey Patricia!
    Great poster and presentation! I was wondering, however, if ants in same species mostly have similar bacterial diversity, in what studies/situations would this not be true? What would have to be different in order for the same species to have significant difference in bacterial diversity?

    1. Patricia Perez

      My understanding is that there are some studies such as one on Oecophylla smaragdina that found that ants in urban and forested areas have different gut compositions even though they are in the same species. There are studies on genera like Cepholate, Pheidole, and Polyrhachis where the investigators have found that there are some bacterial groups that are not shared between all the species in the genera, but these findings were not significant enough to identify each species. Having a statistically significant difference would mean bacterial diversity that is unique to one and only one species.

  7. Emily Miller

    Hi Patricia! Love your poster! Why did you decide to use QIME compared to other bioinformatics pipelines? Are there any particular benefits or potential biases you foresee?

  8. Jade Monteiro

    Hi Patricia! Could you elaborate on what the significance would be if there was an overlap in the microbial communities of the two ants? Thanks!

    1. Patricia Perez

      A significant difference would mean having bacteria that is exclusive to one and only one species, or having a bacteria that is not present in all the species in one genus but is present in all samples of one species in that genera.

  9. Ryan Husain

    Hi,
    Would ants of the same species reared in very different environments, such as in the lab vs in their natural habitat, show different microbial communities due to different needs?

    1. Patricia Perez

      Differences between lab reared ants and non lab reared ants have been found, as well as some differences between the same species collected from different environments. It is not definitely known why there are differences, I’d say it’s a topic that will be elucidated on as investigation on the topic persists.