Maintaining healthy Fungus
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:21 am
Some interesting info about fungus and ants relationship.
It has been suggested that one of the main countermeasures the ants have against parasitic fungi is to maintain their fungus at a pH of 5 (acidic) which promotes their symbiotic fungal growth and inhibits the damaging parasitic fungus.Leaf Cutters seem to produce a secretion from their metapleural gland which lowers the pH of leaves coming into the nest from pH7-8 to pH5. In an experiment where all of the ants were removed from the fungus, the pH of the fungus rose from pH5 to pH7 and the parasitic fungi started to grow.
It has been suggested that one of the main countermeasures the ants have against parasitic fungi is to maintain their fungus at a pH of 5 (acidic) which promotes their symbiotic fungal growth and inhibits the damaging parasitic fungus.Leaf Cutters seem to produce a secretion from their metapleural gland which lowers the pH of leaves coming into the nest from pH7-8 to pH5. In an experiment where all of the ants were removed from the fungus, the pH of the fungus rose from pH5 to pH7 and the parasitic fungi started to grow.