This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2001. The fellowship supports training and research on the basic biology of protozoan, microalgal, fungal, archaeal, bacterial and viral species that are not generally considered to be model organisms. Further, it provides opportunities for a recent doctoral recipients to obtain additional training in microbial biology, to gain research experience under the sponsorship of established scientists, and to broaden his/her scientific horizons beyond the research experiences during the undergraduate and graduate training. These fellowships are further designed to assist new scientists to direct their research efforts across traditional disciplinary lines and to avail themselves of unique research resources, sites, and facilities, including foreign locations.
The research and training plan is entitled "Evolutionary patterns and processes in symbiotic fungi associated with fungus-growing ants." Many microbes form close associations ("symbioses") with plants and animals. Symbiosis involves a dramatic change for microbial species, permitting us to understand how differences in life styles and environments shape microbial biodiversity and evolution. Fungus-growing ants in the Neotropical tribe Attini (Formicidae) comprise a group of about 200 described species which are all dependent on the cultivation of fungus for food. Some ants repeatedly domesticated fungi from free-living stock, while other associations are ancient and highly specialized. This study explores how symbiotic associations have shaped the evolutionary processes and patterns in the fungal symbionts of attine ants. It further seeks to determine if symbiosis with ants involves a switch from sexual reproduction to reproductions without sex. The proposed work will provide valuable insights into how intimate associations with ants have shaped the patterns and processes of evolution in symbiotic fungi.
