“Expanding the collections into Brazil was very important for this study because that is where many of the leaf-cutter ants and their fungal-farming relatives live, including many species that we knew very little about,” Solomon said.
To collect samples, the team traveled across much of Brazil in search of leaf-cutter ants and their relatives. When they found a colony, they would dig up a farming chamber and then use sterile instruments and containers to collect a palm-sized fragment of fungal garden. At the lab, the fungi from these fragments were isolated and studied, both via DNA sequencing and with traditional microscopy.
“That could be significant because the more general and broadly applicable a control strategy is, the more economical it is to develop and test,” Solomon said.” Based on what we know so far, it could be possible to develop an Escovopsis-based control strategy in which a single from of the parasite could be used to target several different of ant.”
Solomon said a significant amount of research still needs to be done before such a strategy could be developed. For example ,biologists have yet to document the complete life cycle of Escovopsis . Such studies would be needed to fully understand how the parasite undermines a colony’s health and how broadly it might be used against leaf-cutter species.