Ants have farming fungi for an astonishing 66 million years, a practice that began shortly after the asteroid impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. This catastrophic event create conditions conducive to the rapid growth of fungi, which thrive on the abundant dead plant material.
As these fungi flourish, innovative ant species began to cultivate them, leading to an intricate evolutionary partnership that has continue through the ages.
Recent research has provide new insights into how this relationship develop and evolve over time.
In a study publish on 3rd October 2024 in the journal Science, a team of scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, led by entomologist Dr. Ted Schultz, analyse genetic data from hundreds of ant and fungus species.
This comprehensive study allow the researchers to reconstruct an evolutionary timeline that identifies when ants first began to cultivate fungi.
They examine a dataset that include 475 species of fungi, 288 of which are cultivate by ants with 276 species of ants, 208 of which practice fungus farming.
This extensive data collection is the largest ever assemble for fungus-farming ants.
The findings indicate that ants and fungi have interconnect for 66 million years, coinciding with the period of the asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous era.
As the impact had devastating consequences for many organisms, it was beneficial for fungi, which thrive in the decaying leaf litter.
This interaction laid the foundation for a lasting agricultural relationship.
The research also reveal that it took nearly 40 million years for ants to develop advance farming techniques.
Around 27 million years ago, a cooling climate led ants to cultivate fungi in drier habitats, isolating them from their wild ancestors.
This significant change in environment result in ants domestically nurturing these fungi, similar to how humans domesticated crops.
By this research, the longstanding agricultural success of ants highlights an evolutionary journey that continues to offer valuable lessons in adaptability and survival.
