Planta Med 2015; 81 - PC3
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1556204

Antibiotic-producing bacteria associated with the nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa

EA Silva-Junior 1, 4, CR Paludo 1, 4, FS Nascimento 2, CR Currie 3, J Clardy 4, MT Pupo 1
  • 1Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040 – 903, Brazil
  • 2Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040 – 901, Brazil
  • 3University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
  • 4Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA

The leaf-cutting ants are associated with bacteria that produce antibiotics to protect their colonies against invading microorganisms. Natural products produced by these bacteria were selected by ants during thousands of years of evolution and may be useful for drug discovery. We have been studying the antibiotic-producing bacteria associated with the nests of the leaf-cutting ants Atta sexdens rubropilosa. These bacterial strains isolated from the ants and the fungal garden inhibited the growth of the fungal garden parasite Escovopsis sp. and the human pathogens Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 3538, Proteus mirabilis ATCC 29906 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The antibiotics produced by these bacteria will be presented.