Fungus farming ant genome reveals insight into adaptation of social behavior

The Panamanian leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior farms fungus on leaf fragments for food. The development of agriculture was a significant event in human cultural evolution, but we are not the only organisms to have adopted an agricultural way of life. In a study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have sequenced the genome of a fungus farming leaf-cutting ant, revealing new insights into the genetics and molecular biology behind this unusual lifestyle.

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